The Sunday Paper’s third issue runs alongside our Runaways Collection. In keeping with this theme, we chose our tastemakers and their stories hoping they would make your mind wander.

Some of them make their living through the art of travelling, others write stories and value cultural references that transport your mind to other worlds. Some of them have a pinch of French-ness that couldn’t be missed in this issue.

EFE CAKAREL

Picture this. The Fondazione Prada cinema, with its olive-oil velvet seats, empty apart from the two people sitting at its centre, Antonioni’s Blow Up lighting up the screen. Undoubtedly a unique experience and one which would only be extended to the most relevant of cinema personalities. As an exception, of course. 

We are in Milan, and Efe Cakarel, the founder of art-film streaming platform, MUBI, has hand-picked the setting for our Sunday Paper shoot. “If we do the shoot in a cinema, it has to be a great one”, he says.

Cakerel’s love of cinema started during his early childhood spent in Turkey, where he would watch foreign films in the arthouse theatres of his hometown. Making our way through the Fondazione, we discuss the role of cinema as an expression of art, its past and future, as well as Efe’s love of wine, backgammon and Japan, where MUBI began. 

There are few people as inspiring as Efe Cakarel, whose success has been formed by a fine balance between a sense of business and his childlike passion. Made all the more inspiring by his kind eyes, which never fail to smile behind his thick-framed glasses.

EMILY FITZROY

Two unlikely coincidences shaped our story on Emily FitzRoy. First was that we happened to be on the same tiny, unpolished, slow and sleepy Sicilian island - Filicudi, also called ‘Paradisola’ (paradise-island).

The second was that we bumped into each other at the local bar by the harbour. This was especially lucky because Emily had rightly decided to leave her phone behind for her two-week holiday and when we tried to organise a time and location for the shoot she vaguely told us “you’ll find me around La Sirena in the morning”. In Filicudi, you don’t make plans. 

Over a cappuccino and three sweet figs (abundant and always freshly picked on the island), we let the greatest travel connoisseur of Italy tell us the secrets behind the success of her renowned bespoke travel and events company, Bellini Travel.

From throwing the ultimate party on the Orient Express to a private dinner catered by the one and only Osteria Francescana, Bellini is responsible for the most lavish entertainment in Italy, so on this hot morning, we discussed the art of travel, how to get the real Italian deal, and Emily’s surprising secret skills.

HAYDEE AND PIERRE TOUITOU

Undeniable overachievers, the Touitou siblings have built their careers with passion and creativity. As a writer, editorial consultant and co-founder of The Skirt Chronicles, Haydée describes her desire to write as an irresistible urge, whilst Pierre finds his greatest joy in developing colourful dishes for his vibrant Parisian restaurants, Vivant and Déviant. 

Alongside busy day jobs, both siblings often find inspiration on their travels.

Pierre being based in England, South America and dreaming of moving to Japan prior to opening his eateries in Paris and Haydée sparking her best ideas whilst travelling through Europe by train. With Sunday afternoons filled with food, films, and their favourite people, Haydée and Pierre, give us an insight into their weekend plans, biggest inspirations and greatest pleasures. 

VALERY GREGO

Built into the rugged, rocky landscape of Ibiza, in a finca (farmhouse) so secluded it has no address, we met Valéry Grégo.

He greeted us with freshly made almond milk and welcomed us into his beautiful island home. With a fascination for unusual spaces, Valéry’s sharp vision and a keen eye for detail led him from a lengthy career in finance to creating some of the most thoughtfully designed hotels in Europe.

Behind the likes of Les Roches Rouges on the Côte d’Azur, Le Pigalle in Paris and several hotels in the Alps, Valéry’s life involves little routine and endless travel.

He talked to us about the importance of having a sense of home, the magazine which has accompanied him through the years, informing his decisions and inspiring his work and revealed a passion for Proust so deep that he has a tattoo dedicated to the author on his arm…