For a guy best known for his starring role in the street-racing, action-exploitation film franchise The Fast and The Furious, Vin Diesel commands surprising respect. By his mid teens he’d acted in repertory and worked as a nightclub dancer, then dropped out of college aged just 18 to make the movie short Multi-Facial, which he wrote, directed, produced and starred in, and was shown at Cannes in 1995 to critical acclaim.
Now almost three decades later, Diesel has a string of successful roles behind him and heads a number of film production companies. With Fast & Furious 6 set to open shortly, and a quartet of further projects in the pipeline between now and the end of 2014, the muscle-bound native New Yorker was only too happy to pose for an exclusive photoshoot with Prestige Hong Kong alongside another rippling physique – that of Sheena the leopard. You’ll find the two of them on page 226, alongside a revealing interview with this most gentle – and gentlemanly – of cinematic hard men.
Our May issue also brings us face-to-face with Colombian-born handbag and accessories designer Nancy Gonzalez, whose first flagship has just opened its doors here in Hong Kong. Perpetuating that South American theme, we sit down to chat with Rio-resident Alice Dellal, whose rock-chick persona and undercut hairdo continue to inspire millions of imitations, not to mention her long-time friend and mentor Karl Lagerfeld. With summer now fast approaching, we bring you 10 pages of sizzling looks from the heat of the California desert, and a vivid collection of shoes and bags to set them off in style. We meet a trio of former Miss Hong Kong contestants whose charitable activities prove that their beauty is more than skin-deep. And as painters, sculptors, dealers and connoisseurs from across the world prepare to descend on Hong Kong this month for Art Basel, we talk to five local artists who are themselves making waves internationally.
Last but definitely not least, Mother’s Day this year falls on May 12. So to all the women in our lives, this one’s for you!