André Saraiva wants you to pour yourself a glass of wine. Any wine will do, (although he has an affinity for vin rouge, personally), but he’s specific about the type of vessel that you choose. He’d like for you to drink it out of a glass that he designed. It has a short stem and an elongated bowl and it looks a bit like a port glass—you know, the kind that feels good in your hand and implores you to sip long, slow, delish nips of something complex but not too demanding, and savor the aroma of a languid evening.
Being a natural bon vivant (Saraiva holds a slew of titles including famed graffiti artist, fashion editor, film director, transatlantic nightclub owner, and hotelier), André knows that there’s power in options. So, you have the choice of drinking from one glass with the inscription ‘Amour,’ or another friskier sipper, titled ‘Sexe.’ Conveniently, Andre designed the latter glass with Maison Flâneur for Semaine—but you can buy both exclusively in our e-shop this week. Perhaps you’d like to pack these glasses for your Valentine’s Day picnic along the Thames, or send one to your long-distance inamorato per this week’s Semaine short with André and Aphrodite. Love the glasses, but don’t have a date? No matter. Make like André and treat yourself to the perfect day in his hometown, Paris.
It starts with a bed at the Hôtel Grand Amour, (which is easy for André because, well, he owns a good part of it). Next, a jaunty amble to the newsstand to pick up a newspaper to enjoy alongside your morning coffee. You’ll read it later, again, at your appointment with André’s hairdresser in the epicenter of the city. Now for another stroll: Perhaps you’ll like the Jardins des Tuileries at this time of year, or the Louvre, or the Palais Royal (André’s art isn’t on display there right now, but you could Google it). End the day on a high with sole meunière and French fries at Le Voltaire. Come dessert, you might find André at the bar to go dancing at the Petit Palace with.
If you can’t make it to Paris, don’t fret—it’s likely that you’ll be able to find traces of André’s fun-loving spirit on any given day in your city. Seek out graffiti of a dapper stick figure wearing a top-hat and a cheeky wink called Mr. A. He’s the character that first brought André to fame as a young Swedish transplant in Paris in the late ‘80s, and it’s been reported that his tag has appeared close to 300,000 times worldwide in the years since. Alternatively, book a suite in one of his properties—or throw down for a table with all the fixings at one of his exclusive nighttime haunts.
There’s plenty to choose from, like Le Baron in Paris, Le Bain in Manhattan, a cosy boutique by the name of Mirama on the coast of Portugal, and his latest venture—a pastel-colored beach front location called La Plage Hotel Amour on Promenade des Anglais in Nice. If the weather’s bad, switch on a screen instead: André appears in Banky's documentary, Exit Through The Gift Shop, and in the “Somebody Somewhere” music video he directed for Cazals with Lou Doillon, among many, many other things.
As we mentioned before, you’ll be able to purchase André’s ideal wine glasses on this week’s Semaine, but—what’s more—you’ll also be able to explore his most-desired daily essentials, the travel destinations he’s lusting after this year, the books he reads to dream, and the songs he plays to get everybody in the mood. So scroll through and enjoy—oh, and whatever you like to drink, don’t forget to also choose love this Valentine’s Day. Salut!
By Elsa de Berker for Semaine.