AN ODE TO CRAFTSMANSHIP AND AUTHENTICITY. Gabriella Cortese made her mark on the fashion universe when she founded Antik Batik in 1992. The Antik Batik fashion house stands out for its collections of chic, bohemian clothing and accessories that emphasise craftsmanship and artistic techniques. It was the alluring scent of adventure that set Gabriella Cortese on her travels and inspired her to create Antik Batik, thus it reflects its designer's ever-renewed desire to explore the world with boldness and curiosity, and to share her discoveries. Fiercely committed to freedom and open-mindedness, Gabriella has built her Antik Batik brand – which has now gone global – as a true ode to craftsmanship and authenticity. "Antik Batik has always had a soul" "Every time that I feel through my intuition, I do the right things, and when I go far from my intuition things go wrong." "I need a lot of nature to calm down" https://www.alainelkanninterviews.com/gabriella-cortese/

ACTIVELY AGING. Erri De Luca was born in Naples in 1950. A widely celebrated Italian novelist, essayist, poet, and translator, he has been hailed as "the writer of the decade" by Italian critics and his work has been translated into over thirty languages. He has written around 80 books – some say 100 – and is also a translator of important works. He has studied ancient Hebrew, Swahili, Russian and Yiddish, and has translated several books from the Old Testament, such as Ecclesiastes, Exodus and the Book of Jonah. He has also appeared in films and documentaries, including L'età sperimentale (2024), which Feltrinelli subsequently published as a book. It has also recently been published by Gallimard in Paris, where Erri is known for having won several major literary prizes. "I don't believe I'll live for long, but my aim is to live the present day as intensely as possible." "I don't consider writing a job. For me, it has always been that saved time, and today it is a happy part of my day, but it is a small, happy part of my day." "We are in this uncertain time, where there is vagueness and resentment, and in this time I am quite out of the ordinary, out of place, because right now I feel more compassion, more feelings of brotherhood than feelings of hostility." https://www.alainelkanninterviews.com/erri-de-luca/

CHINA FIRST. Dr. Yu Jie is Senior Research Fellow for China, Chatham House. She focuses on the interplay between China's domestic political economy and foreign policy and is a seasoned commentator in major international media outlets, including BBC News, the Financial Times and Foreign Policy. She regularly briefs senior policymakers from G20 governments and leading intergovernmental organisations. In July 2025, Project Syndicate recognised her as 'one of the most notable female voices' in global affairs. "It is very much a self-centred way of looking at the world and its position in the rest of the world." "Both China and Russia would prefer a world led by multipolar order" "Chinese young people no longer consider the West is the absolute one and only destination they want to go to." https://www.alainelkanninterviews.com/yu-jie-2/

SEAMLESSLY BLENDING ART DECO AND CONTEMPORARY DESIGN. Benoist F. Drut is managing partner of Maison Gerard, a leading source for French Art Deco furniture, lighting and objects, and — more recently — postwar and contemporary design. Founded in 1974 by Gerardus Widdershoven, Maison Gerard maintains two premises on East 10th Street in Manhattan and is an  elegant presence at both The Winter Show and at Salon Art + Design. "I always have my eyes open. I have to stay curious, aware, and inquisitive, that's my job." "Being based in New York, your main competitors are in London and Paris, but we sell everywhere.  Shipping is not difficult these days." "I am known to spend more time with people that may not be able to afford some of our goods but are passionate about our material than with people who have the means!" https://www.alainelkanninterviews.com/benoist-drut/

A CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR. Marcantonio Brandolini d'Adda, born in 1991, is a Venetian entrepreneur and artist with diverse creative pursuits. The family business, Laguna~B, specialises in contemporary Murano glassware, and from this base Brandolini d'Adda is now expanding his activities into a universe of complementary ventures, including a design studio, a restaurant, and a magazine called EVERYTHING that serves as a communication platform for the various projects of his group of companies. "EVERYTHING reflects the creative and cultural environment where it was born." "EVERYTHING is a collaborative endeavour: even though I've initiated it." "I'm an artist, and the relationship between artist and entrepreneur is always complicated." https://www.alainelkanninterviews.com/marcantonio-brandolini

CHOSEN TO SAVE SUN BEARS. Dr. Wong Siew Te is a Malaysian wildlife biologist, wildlife conservationist, tropical forest ecologist and nature lover. He studied veterinary science in Taiwan and later wildlife biology at the University of Montana where he began his focus on the rare and little-known Malayan sun bear, the endangered smallest species of bear in the world. In 2008 Wong founded the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) in Sabah, Malaysia, and he still runs it today. A CNN Hero, Wong received the President's Award from the International Association for Bear Research and Management. "The bears are very shy animals. They all know that humans are the most dangerous animal that has ever been created on planet Earth" "The orangutan receives a lot of conservation attention, but not the sun bear. That's why the idea of setting up the sun bear centre first came about." "I think I was the chosen one to help and to save sun bears. My professor chose me to study wild sun bears, and I accepted. Everything happens for a reason." https://www.alainelkanninterviews.com/wong-siew-te

MILANESE MASTER OF CONTEMPORARY DESIGN.  Piero Lissoni is a multi-award-winning-architect, designer and art director. One of the masters of contemporary design, he has an almost forty-year history in the development of projects the world over in the fields of architecture, landscape, interior, product and graphic design. He is art director for Alpi, Boffi, Living Divani, Lualdi, Porro and Sanlorenzo as well as being the founder and director of the interdisciplinary studio Lissoni & Partners. "When you're born in Milano and grow up in the polytechnic of Milano it becomes quite natural to control 360 degrees of everything." "I think it was a disease, and I became an architect." "We need to live in our own times, even if sometimes they are imperfect." https://www.alainelkanninterviews.com/piero-lissoni/

A PASSION FOR GREECE. Paolo Colombo is an Italian artist and poet. Born in 1949 in Turin, Italy, he lives and works in Athens, Greece. He was a curator between 1986 and 2017 in Philadelphia, in Geneva, in Istanbul, in Torino and in Athens. His works of visual poetry are exhibited widely. "Greece is my world" "Language is very connected with painting, regardless whether I make a painting of a poem or not." "I love the language, I love the music, I love the dances" https://www.alainelkanninterviews.com/paolo-colombo-3/

COMBINING ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIOR DESIGN. Nathalie Droulers and her twin sister Virginie were born in Milan in 1973. Nathalie graduated in Architecture from the Polytechnic University in Milan in 1997. She worked in New York as a Creative Director in product design development and in 2000 returned to Italy, where she collaborated with the Milan-based Dstudio as a Project Manager. In 2005 she founded Nathalie Droulers Studio, developing residential and commercial projects internationally. Her sister Virginie graduated in Graphic Design from Parsons School of Design in New York in 1999. She worked in New York from 1997 to 2000, and when she returned to Italy she founded Kv Design, a graphic and packaging firm. In 2007, Nathalie and Virginie founded Droulers Architecture together, with the aim of creating an international studio developing residential, commercial and leisure projects, now also specialised in architecture and interior design for luxury yachts. Droulers collaborates with a team of specialised and skilled professionals in a concerted effort to achieve these ambitious goals. "Naturally and luckily, we gradually moved into our respective roles." "One of our most important qualities is our ability to listen to what our clients want." "Getting the new generation on board is probably the biggest success we could achieve." https://www.alainelkanninterviews.com/nathalie-droulers/

COVID REFLECTIONS. Jay McInerney is a well-known American writer, one of the most gifted of his generation. Novelist, screenwriter and wine connoisseur, McInerney recently published See You on the Other Side, the eagerly anticipated final volume of his stunningly accomplished and profoundly affecting fictional tetralogy: Brightness Falls, The Good Life, and Bright Precious Days. "The stories that I'm interested in ultimately are the personal ones." "The people who come here are ambitious and energetic and they come here because it's the biggest stage in America that there is." "There is something special about the voices of people in their 20s, which we need." https://www.alainelkanninterviews.com/jay-mcinerney/