Designers Brian Wolk and Claude Morais Ring in 2024 With a Transatlantic Trunk Show Aboard the Queen Mary 2
There’s a direct flight from LAX to Charles de Gaulle, but why spend 12 hours hurling through the troposphere, when you can spend eight luxurious days crossing the North Atlantic Ocean on the Queen Mary 2? Brian Wolk and Claude Morais set sail from Brooklyn on January 3 and they’ll arrive in Southampton, England on January 11. From there, it’s a short Eurostar to Paris, where they’re presenting their new gender-free hand-stitched cashmere collectsion to buyers. QM2 guests are getting an on-ship preview and making pre-orders—think of it as a transatlantic trunk show.
Since their first crossing in May 2022, Morais has been studying the history of sea travel; he recommends The Sway of the Grand Saloon by John Malcom Brinnin, to the cruise curious. Wolk, for his part, endorses the QM2’s fencing class and the indoor pool on Deck 12. Checking in via email from near Halifax, Nova Scotia, he reported, “we haven’t seen any icebergs, but we do have some stormy weather ahead on Saturday and Sunday. It’s a winter crossing, after all. You never know what adventures lie ahead.” Scroll through theses images from the designers’ first few days aboard the ship.
Photographed by Steven Kohlstock1/10Departure day on a Transatlantic Crossing connects us to our fashion forefathers who have made this journey many times. The anticipation is palpable for the adventures of eight days at sea.
Photographed by Steven Kohlstock2/10There is no more glamorous way to travel than in the Queens Grill Suites aboard Queen Mary 2. Our duplex, replete with three marble bathrooms, a walk-in closet, and dining room, makes the perfect pied-à-terre at sea, where service is not only a virtue but comes delivered in a smart red suit.
Photographed by Steven Kohlstock3/10QM2 boasts the largest library at sea with about 10,000 volumes in a wide array of languages, ranging from pulp fiction to high art (and of course a selection of fashion titles!)
Photographed by Steven Kohlstock4/10The Commodore Club is a handsome wood paneled watering hole where modern mixology is accompanied by sweeping views of the sea.
Photographed by Steven Kohlstock5/10What appears to be an art installation is actually spare propeller blades for the ship. The utility and sculptural beauty were not lost on us.
Photographed by Steven Kohlstock6/10Tea time is everyday at 3:30 in the afternoon.
Photographed by Steven Kohlstock7/10The corridor that leads between the grand lobby and the Britannia restaurant is our very own red carpet runway for evening promenades in black tie.
Photographed by Steven Kohlstock8/10Dinner at the Queens Grill restaurant, where champagne flows and guests dress to be noticed.
Photographed by Steven Kohlstock9/10A little bit Monte Carlo and a dash of Ocean’s Eleven, the casino on board is an effervescent hive of activity.
Photographed by Steven Kohlstock10/10We made fast friends with Françoise Surel and her daughter Delphine who share a love for romantic travel. This is their fourth transatlantic crossing on Queen Mary 2. They never travel by plane.
