PEAKLIFE

Luxurious forever. The principality of Monaco is the toast of the uber-swanky circuit, humming with A-listers throughout the year. Casino valets smoothly taking over your swish wheels as you are ushered into the dizzying spin of the famous Grand Prix, gourmet specials, celebrities notching up the glamour at coveted gigs. In sync with such a setting, Millionaire Asia India collaborated with Bollywood’s icon of luxury, Karan Johar, for a mega power shoot by the Mediterranean.

Chief Editor Parineeta Sethi reminisces about her first visit to grand Monaco.

“ Monaco spells fluent luxury, escapades off the coast, mouthwatering gourmet treats to rave about, and of course, the world’s biggest and most dazzling names in haute couture. It is undoubtedly the principality that nets in all things luxurious. So when the three biggest synonyms of luxury: Monaco, Karan Johar, and Millionaire Asia India came together for a dreamy cover-shoot for the magazine, the magic simply had to unveil.

The heady heli-transfer by Monacair from the Nice airport brought in a thrilling overview of the miniature principality. With the crew of 12 who had travelled with us for the shoot, we stayed at the finest locations: Fairmont Monte Carlo and Hotel Metropole Monte Carlo.

My stay at Fairmont was truly magical, with an unending view of the Mediterranean from my room. With the days jam-packed with shoots, it was certainly refreshing to come back to relax by the view. One of my most cherished moments at the Fairmont was having breakfast gazing at Monaco’s most renowned landmark – the hairpin bend of the F1 Grand Prix. Truly a surreal moment.

Work had to begin shortly and it did with our team and photographer scouring and snapping the most treasured locations across Monaco. The principality boasts of 300 days of sunshine, and the weather during our entire shoot matched the energy quotient of our crew perfectly.

Shooting with Karan, known for his love of all good things in life, we simply had to shoot with the wide array of designer labels in the backdrop. From Valentino and Hermes to Prada, Ferragamo and Dior and hanging out at the famous shopping hotspot Avenue de la Costa, let me simply put it that none of us went back to our rooms empty-handed that day.

Next on the line up was the glitzy stretch of luxury yachts. The Riviera was just the glamorous location we needed. Our entire team celebrated with a hearty post-shoot lunch at the Café de Paris. The tables heaved with the locally produced scrumptious dishes and the legendary outdoor terrace at the Cafe was the perfect place to unwind and relax to get a true feel of the high life in Monaco. We tucked in the finest Japanese at Nobu at Fairmont – the ultimate destination for the sushi enthusiast in me. The mint-new Indian restaurant, Maya Jah, delighted with its traditional spread as well.

And that was a wrap! This was my first visit to Monaco, and I am already raring to go back again: there is magic in the Monegasque after all.