Gemma Billington

In a country renowned for its traditional craftsmanship and impeccable style, being able to claim the title of Britain’s oldest luxury label is quite the accomplishment. Swaine London proudly holds that title. A favorite of the Royal Family since the mid-1700s, Swaine’s specialty is leather and intricate hand craftsmanship. It originally made whips and saddlery (including exclusively for King George III), then pivoted to luggage – primarily for well-to-do automobile enthusiasts in the 19th century. Later, it turned its attention to attachés, handbags and document cases. Today, Swaine’s output is pleasingly diverse, but with the very same old-school and quintessentially British DNA.

The freshly opened Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has been dubbed many things during its eight-year construction: futuristic, controversial, an alien spaceship, a billion-dollar vanity project. But according to Mellody Hobson, the museum’s co-founder alongside her husband, Hollywood filmmaking legend George Lucas, the endeavor is like “stepping into George’s mind.” “We’ve been working on this project together, basically, as long as I’ve known him,” Hobson told the Wall Street Journal. For the record, that would be 21 years – the couple first crossed paths at a business conference in 2005. “George had decided that he was going to build a museum a very long time ago… [it’s] very cool, very creative, unexpected… the detail is so nuanced.