Sandra‘s Closet

Between covering the new Art in the Park edition and the beautiful Assouline book dedicated to this iconic house, I found myself feeling wonderfully nostalgic. So consider this post a small homage, one that has been quietly waiting to be written for some time.

My Look: Must-Have

The Baur au Lac is not simply a hotel to me. Having had the privilege of knowing the Kracht family over the years, I have witnessed firsthand the extraordinary care, vision and quiet dedication that goes into everything this house represents. That connection makes every visit feel personal in a way that is difficult to put into words.

My Look: Magic Weekend

Over the years, some of my most memorable moments on the Zurich social calendar have unfolded here. Art in the Park is one of them. The Kispi Ball, that most glamorous of charitable evenings, was another, along with the annual Rive Gauche Summer Party. And then there is Street Parade, when Zurich transforms into something wonderfully wild and the Baur au Lac somehow remains the most elegant spot in the city.

My Look: Kispi

The garden terrace holds a particularly special place in my heart. There is nowhere quite like it on a warm Zurich days, and I have spent many of those evenings there, dressed up and grateful to be exactly where I am.

My Look: Beauty Sleep

And yes, I have stayed the night more than once. Because sometimes the only right thing to do is not to leave.

My Look: Roman Studs

Come winter, the magic shifts indoors and into the park in an entirely different way. The Chalet au Lac, a charming rustic retreat tucked into the hotel grounds, is one of Zurich’s most enchanting seasonal secrets, perfect for an unhurried fondue evening when the city slows down and candlelight feels like the only appropriate light source.

My Look: Denim & Brocade

And then there is Baur’s, one of my absolute favourite restaurants in the city. Designed by the internationally acclaimed Martin Brudnizki , the same visionary behind Annabel’s in London – where I am part of the membership committee – , the interior is simply a dream. That particular alchemy of warmth, glamour and timeless elegance that Brudnizki conjures so effortlessly feels entirely at home here.

My Look: Modern Marie Antoinette

What you will find in this post is a collection of outfits photographed at the Baur au Lac across all of these occasions and all of these years. Fashion and place are inseparable for me, and this hotel has been one of the most beautiful backdrops my wardrobe has ever known. Consider this a love letter in looks.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

LoL, Sandra

My Look: Chill

My Look: Girls’ Night

My Look: My Funny Valentine

My Look: Kispi 2018

My Look: Rive Gauche Summer Party 2016

My Look: New Style

My Look: Art in the Park

My Look: Street Parade

My Look: Street Parade 2024

My Look: Baby It’s Cold Outside

My Look: Lesage

My Look: Fab

 Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht / David Biedert Photography and André Hengst
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Now in its 24th edition, Art in the Park returns to the iconic grounds of Baur au Lac this summer with a compelling solo presentation by Norwegian artist Ida Ekblad. Initiated and curated by sixth-generation owner Gigi Kracht, the annual sculpture exhibition has long been a fixture of the Zurich cultural calendar and a highly anticipated prelude to Art Basel.

Having attended many editions over the years, this is one of those Zurich summer highlights I return to time and again, and if you have been following Sandra’s Closet for a while, you will no doubt have seen my coverage before. What Gigi Kracht creates here each year is simply remarkable.

With Gigi Kracht at a previous Art in the Park event.

Running from June 15 to July 21, 2026, and opening in parallel with Zurich Art Weekend, this year’s edition is realised in collaboration with Zurich gallery Karma International. Ekblad, whose work is held in collections including the Kunsthaus Zürich, Centre Pompidou and MOCA Los Angeles, brings a new body of work that extends her sculptural and painterly practice into both the park and the hotel’s interior salons.

Book of Boredom by Ida Ekblad

Two monumental bronze sculptures, THE JINXED PORTRAIT (2026) and BOOK OF BOREDOM (2022), will anchor the outdoor presentation, their hand-painted surfaces entering into dialogue with the park’s remarkable tree canopy.

Joining them is the white bronze bench NATTSYN FOR DAGSYN (2022), adorned with a rose motif and previously shown at the Kunsthaus Zürich. A particular highlight is the world premiere of Ekblad’s Kraken Möbel series, a group of wooden objects that blur the boundary between sculpture and design, inviting visitors to interact with the space in entirely new ways.

Ida Ekblad

Indoors, a new series of paintings and works on paper continues Ekblad’s signature language of gestural abstraction, layered colour and poetic text. The exhibition is free for everyone to visit.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Baur au Lac and Kistefos-Museum, © Sandra Bauknecht
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Few hotels carry a story quite like the Baur au Lac. Since opening its doors in 1844, Zurich’s most legendary address has been shaped by seven generations of the same family, a thread of continuity rare in the world of luxury hospitality. Now, that story has been immortalised in A Legacy by the Lake, a new coffee table book published by Assouline as part of its Hospitality Collection.

Andrea Kracht and his daughter, Marguita «Muki» Kracht, are the 6th and 7th-generation owners and operators of the legendary five-star luxury hotel.

Written by James Reginato, Writer-at-Large at Vanity Fair, contributor to Sotheby’s Magazine, and the author behind The Carlyle, the book traces the vision of founder Johannes Baur through to the family Kracht, who own and run the hotel to this day. What began as one man’s idea has grown into one of Europe’s most revered hotel addresses, without ever losing the spirit of deeply personal service and attention to detail that defined it from the start.

Set within a private park at the heart of historic Zurich, with the Swiss Alps and the lake as a backdrop, Baur au Lac has long been a discreet refuge for the world’s most notable guests, from Empress Elisabeth of Austria to Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren and Elton John. Its culinary landmarks, Brasserie Baur’s and the Mediterranean inspired Marguita, and the beloved outdoor sculpture exhibition Art in the Park, complete a picture of a house where culture and hospitality have always been inseparable.

The book brings all of this to life through archival and contemporary imagery, with the people at its heart, guests, staff and the Kracht family, as its true protagonists.

A Legacy by the Lake is available from May 2026, priced at CHF 135 / EUR 120.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Baur au Lac
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Royal Pop: I Called It. And Here Is What Comes Next.

Well. The watch world just got its answer and I have to say, I called the pocket watch. If you read last week’s post, you know I spotted the lanyard and the «clac!» for exactly what they were: a nod to the original 90s Pop Swatch, the one you could clip, hang and wear any way you wanted. That modular DNA is alive and well in 2026.

The Royal Pop turns out to be a collection of eight Bioceramic pocket watches, priced at CHF 350 and CHF 375 depending on the configuration, powered by a new hand-wound SISTEM51 movement with 90 hours of power reserve. Two case styles: the Lépine with the crown at 12, and the Savonnette with the crown at 3 and a small seconds subdial. Eight colorways, Royal Oak octagonal bezel, Tapisserie dial, eight screws. Everything you hoped for, just not on your wrist.

And yes, two of the models look remarkably like the AI concepts I created right here on Sandra’s Closet.

At launch there is no official strap option, but I am convinced that dedicated watch straps will follow as accessories, allowing the Royal Pop to sit on the wrist as well. That would complete the concept beautifully.

What excites me most though is the bag charm potential. The Royal Oak silhouette in BioCeramic, in eight pop colors, hanging from your bag? That is not a watch anymore. That is a statement piece. And that market is enormous.

One more detail worth noting: Audemars Piguet is donating 100% of its proceeds to support the next generation of watchmaking talent. For a maison built on independence and savoir-faire, that is exactly the right footnote on the most unconventional thing it has ever put its name to.

The Royal Pop drops on May 16 exclusively in selected Swatch boutiques worldwide. One watch per person, per store, per day. No online sales at launch. The full list of participating stores can be found here.
So – would you queue for one?

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Via Swatch and © Sandra Bauknecht
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Ralph Lauren and the USPS Just Made Stamps Worth Collecting
For nearly six decades, Ralph Lauren has been synonymous with American style. Now he is leaving his mark on something even more quintessentially American: the postage stamp.

To celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary, the U.S. Postal Service invited the designer, and 2025 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, to curate «American Icons,» a 13-stamp commemorative pane. It is the first time in USPS history that a single individual has been handed the creative reins over an entire official stamp issuance, and the result feels exactly as considered and layered as you would expect from Lauren.

The pane draws from his personal archives and the visual touchstones that have shaped his career over the decades. Twelve stamps line the outer edges, each one a quiet portrait of American life: Jackie Robinson’s worn baseball glove, a Diné blanket woven by Naiomi Glasses, a pickup truck, the Empire State Building. At the centre sits a 13th stamp, larger and anchoring the entire composition, featuring Lauren’s own knit flag design framed in blue denim and marked simply «1776 to 2026.»

Separately, the USPS is also releasing a 2026 U.S. Flag Mail Use Stamp, its design pulled directly from the distinctive knit texture of Lauren’s iconic Flag Sweater.

A Ralph Lauren project without a wearable counterpart would be incomplete, and so a limited edition capsule collection launches globally on June 9, the day of the official dedication ceremony. The lineup brings back a reimagined American Flag Sweater alongside a classic Polo Shirt and a tailored Ball Cap, each piece rooted in the same heritage the stamps celebrate.

The stamps are available now for pre-order through USPS locations and online. The apparel drops June 9 at select Ralph Lauren stores and on ralphlauren.com.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Ralph Lauren #AmericanIconsStamps
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The outfit: spontaneous, but make it Barbie. A pink tracksuit, worn with complete intention. The jacket silhouette is everywhere right now, and for good reason.

The real talking point: my new Moschino toilet paper roll bag, acquired as a special order ahead of its official launch. Camp and couture in equal measure. The perfect accessory to underscore the glorious kitsch of the Malibu Barbie Café. At home in my closet sits the actual Barbie outfit, still waiting for its debut. But this worked. Perfectly.

My look: Embroidered shell track jacket, and matching shell track pants, both by Givenchy, ribbed cotton tank by Brunello Cucinelli, silver-tone faux pearl necklace, and faux pearl-embellished silver-tone charm, both by Simone Rocha, toilet paper bag by Moschino, drip rose kidskin sandal with crystals 105mm by Valentino, aviator sunglasses with Swarovski crystals by CHANEL, and Oyster Perpetual 36 with a turquoise blue dial by Rolex.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
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Pink Paradise: My Visit to the Malibu Barbie Café in Boston

If you follow me on social media, you already know I have a soft spot for immersive experiences and anything that comes wrapped in a generous shade of pink. So when the Malibu Barbie Café landed in Boston, a visit was absolutely non-negotiable. Though honestly, it was not even planned. My daughter spotted it on a spontaneous walk past Faneuil Hall, and within seconds we looked at each other and the decision was made. We are going to make a reservation.

The pop-up has taken over a space at 101 South Market Street, right in the heart of the Faneuil Hall neighbourhood, one of Boston’s most historic and lively corners. Cobblestone streets, a buzzing marketplace, the waterfront just steps away, and that unmistakable New England energy all around. It is an area where centuries of history meet a very current, very vibrant city scene, which makes it the perfect backdrop for something as boldly out-of-time as this.

The moment you step inside, you are transported to 1970s Malibu California. Every corner is drenched in that iconic Barbie pink, layered with beachy motifs, retro details, and a whole lot of glam. It is the kind of space that makes you reach for your phone before you have even sat down.

And that, honestly, is the main event. For anyone who loves photography, fashion content, or simply living their best Barbie life for an afternoon, this place truly delivers. There is a life-size Barbie Box made for stepping into with your best pose, a scenic lifeguard chair, a wave arch, and several other photo moments scattered throughout. Every corner has been considered with the perfect shot in mind.

Now, a word of honesty about the food and drinks: it is not the reason to go. The menu leans heavily into the aesthetic rather than the culinary. Everything felt a little artificial and very calorie-laden without a lot to show for it in terms of actual taste. We ordered drinks, but truly just for the photo. The menu simply did not tempt us beyond that.

Every ticket does include a ten dollar food credit and a five dollar merchandise credit, which is a nice touch. Just be aware that the food credit applies only to food, not to drinks. The gift store is worth a browse, though I personally did not find anything I could not live without.

None of that took away from the experience. We had a genuinely wonderful time, and the atmosphere is joyful and immersive in a way that is hard not to smile at.

One tip I would give anyone planning a visit: we went on a Tuesday morning, and it made all the difference. The space was calm, relaxed, and the photo moments were completely free to enjoy without crowds or waiting. If beautiful, uncluttered shots are your goal, I would strongly recommend choosing a weekday and an early time slot. Weekends and peak hours will be a very different story.

The Boston pop-up runs until July 19, 2026, so there is still time to plan your visit if you are in the city this summer. And the Malibu Barbie Café has already toured quite a number of cities across the US, including New York, Miami, Chicago, Austin, and Las Vegas, before recently making its very first stop outside of America in Melbourne, Australia. As for Europe, there is nothing announced yet, and as someone based in Switzerland, I will be the first to say: we would absolutely be ready for it. Fingers crossed that Mattel is listening.

Tickets start at 25 dollars per person and include a 90-minute seated experience. All ages are welcome, and children under two do not need a ticket.

As for what I wore, I had not planned the visit at all, so I put together a fitting look entirely from what I already had with me that trip. I will be sharing the outfit details very soon, so stay tuned.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
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The Best Gift You Can Give a Mother? This.
There are days that ask nothing of you. No deadlines, no decisions, no notifications. Just the quiet luxury of being somewhere beautiful with someone you love.

On one of our recent days in Boston, Anouk and I did exactly that. We gave ourselves over to a full day at the Guerlain Spa at the Raffles Boston, and I have been thinking about it ever since.

The Raffles Boston has become my favorite hotel in the city, and for good reason. There is a level of care here that is hard to articulate but impossible to miss. Everything feels considered, generous, and effortlessly refined. It is the kind of place that makes you want to stay longer than planned.

The spa occupies the entire fourth floor, and it shows. Three private treatment suites with hydrotherapy baths and showers, a dedicated couples suite, separate saunas for women and men, a steam room, invigorating experience showers, a 20 meter vitality pool, and a fitness center equipped with Technogym. It is a world unto itself.

You sink into the spa the moment you arrive. The duvets are impossibly soft, the light is warm, the whole space has that rare quality of feeling genuinely unhurried. We had a couples massage, side by side in the same room, and were offered a choice between two oils: one with a gardenia note, the other a deeper, warmer blend of patchouli, tonka bean and vanilla.

We chose the latter. Both of us, without hesitation. The massage was exceptional, the therapists precise and intuitive, and the Guerlain products throughout were simply extraordinary. The scents alone are worth the trip.

Afterwards we swam, sat in the sauna, let the steam room do its work. One of those days you want to press pause on.

On a day like today, it feels worth saying: if you are still looking for a way to celebrate the mother in your life, an experience like this is the answer. Not a thing. Time, beautifully held.

And for those of us in Switzerland: Guerlain Spas are closer than you think. In Geneva at The Woodward, in Lausanne at the Beau-Rivage Palace. Both are destinations in their own right.

Happy Mother’s Day!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
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Royal Pop: Is Swatch About to Give the Royal Oak the MoonSwatch Treatment?
And if so, should AP fans be worried?

The watch world woke up on May 6, 2026 to something that stopped even the most seasoned collectors mid-scroll. On the morning of May 6, advertising appeared simultaneously across major newspapers and digital platforms bearing only the Swatch logo and two cryptic words in Audemars Piguet’s signature font: «Royal» and «Pop.» Within hours, the speculation had gone from whisper to wildfire.

One of my favorite watches in my collection: The Royal Oak Frosted Gold

The Clues Are Almost Too Obvious
Let us be honest: this is not subtle. The first piece of visual evidence is in the typography used for the word «Royal,» which matches the iconic Audemars Piguet Royal Oak script almost exactly. The second teaser word, «Pop,» features the P overlapping the O, a design choice that perfectly mirrors the iconic O overlapping the A on the traditional Audemars Piguet caseback logo. If you know the Royal Oak, you know that logo. There is no other watch on earth it could reference.

Swatch’s first teaser was posted on May 3, 2026.

And it goes deeper than the font. Swatch AG filed for trademark protection on the name «ROYAL POP» in international class 14, the trademark class specifically for jewellery and watches, with an international filing dated June 18, 2024. Companies do not register trademarks they do not intend to use.
There is also the now-legendary social media breadcrumb: during the Swatch x Blancpain launch, the Audemars Piguet official Instagram account reportedly waded into the conversation asking, «when do we launch?» At the time, everyone laughed it off. Nobody is laughing now.

Could It Be a Pocket Watch?
Here is where things get genuinely fascinating and where I find myself genuinely intrigued as an AP obsessive. Back at Watches and Wonders in April, Swatch launched an ad campaign teasing «the real wonders are happening in May,» alongside what looked like lanyards in eight colors, which are definitely not watch bands. Some online have speculated it could be a pocket watch.

The second teaser on May 4, 2026 delivers another hint.

The lanyard and clac! teasers suggest this could be more than a Royal Oak reinterpreted in plastic. It may be a modular accessory, referencing the vintage 90s Pop Swatch era, where the case could be worn on the wrist or hung around the neck, a possible 2-in-1 design unlike anything Swatch has released before.

A pocket watch. In 2026. Carrying the Royal Oak DNA. I have to admit, that is a genuinely clever left turn.
This Will Be Massive. And I Have Complicated Feelings About It.

Let me be clear: if this drops on May 16, the queues outside Swatch boutiques will make the original MoonSwatch launch look like a quiet Tuesday morning. When the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch landed in 2022, traditionalists dismissed it as a hype-beast gimmick. The market disagreed, and it became the blueprint for the most aggressive and successful marketing strategy in modern watchmaking.

Just an idea … but one that I would love.

But here is the difference, and it is a significant one. A Swatch x Audemars Piguet project would be a far more unexpected pairing than Swatch’s previous collaborations with Omega and Blancpain, both of which sit within Swatch Group. Audemars Piguet is independent, making such a collaboration far more consequential.

As someone who considers the Royal Oak Frosted Gold one of the most beautiful objects ever to sit on a wrist and one of my favorite watches in my closet, I find myself genuinely torn. Part of me understands the commercial logic. AP almost certainly watched the «CasioOak» G-Shock craze with interest. A collaboration like this means they profit further from one of the most iconic watch designs ever made.

But the Royal Oak is not just a watch. It is Gerald Genta’s act of rebellion against the quartz crisis, a steel sports watch that dared to cost as much as a gold dress watch in 1972. Its mystique is inseparable from its exclusivity, from the years-long waitlists, from the sense that owning one means something. The moment the silhouette lives on a lanyard sold at a Swatch boutique for a few hundred francs, something irreversible happens to that mythology. You cannot un-democratize an icon.

Does that mean it is wrong? Not necessarily. The MoonSwatch did not kill the Speedmaster. If anything, it created a generation of new Omega admirers. But the Speedmaster was never quite the same cultural touchstone as the Royal Oak. The stakes here feel different.

The Audemars Piguet Diamond Outrage on display at Watches and Wonders 2026.

But what if Royal Pop is not just about color? Cast your mind back to AP’s own history of pushing boundaries: the Diamond Punk in 2015, Diamond Fury in 2016, and Diamond Outrage in 2017. Sculptural, almost aggressive high jewellery pieces that had nothing to do with restraint. And on the Swatch side: the original Pop Swatch era was never just round. Crazy shapes, bold forms, watches that were closer to wearable art than timekeeping. Put those two DNA strands together and Royal Pop could be something far more radical than a Royal Oak in BioCeramic. It could be a shape we have never seen before.

What Would It Look Like?
No official renders exist yet. But based on the teaser clues, expect the unmistakable octagonal bezel, the eight visible screws, and that famous tapisserie dial, all reimagined in Swatch’s lightweight bioceramic. Bright, saturated colorways. And if the lanyard theory holds, a modular case that flips between wrist and pocket, which would be genuinely new territory for any collaboration of this kind.

All concept renders in this post were created by me using artificial intelligence, imagining what Royal Pop could look like before the world gets to see the real thing on May 16, 2026. I had really fun creating them, please scroll down for all other versions.

My Verdict
I will be watching the launch date with the same mix of excitement and apprehension you feel when someone tells you they are about to remake your favorite film. The Royal Pop will almost certainly be a cultural moment. Whether it is good for the Royal Oak long-term is a question AP’s board will be answering for years.

What do you think? Does giving the Royal Oak the MoonSwatch treatment feel like genius, or like a step too far?

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Via Swatch and © Sandra Bauknecht
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A Retreat for the Overwhelmed Soul: Four Seasons The Nam Hai Brings Back Its «Inner Peace & Wisdom Programme»

If you have ever felt like the noise of modern life simply will not let up, a small stretch of coastline in central Vietnam might be exactly what your nervous system is asking for.

From 7 to 9 August 2026, Four Seasons The Nam Hai returns with its «Inner Peace & Wisdom» Retreat, held within the celebrated Heart of the Earth Spa on the pristine shores of Ha My Beach. The programme is co-led by guest expert Judy Xu, founder of Balance Health Hong Kong and co-founder of Manifest Co-Pilot, alongside Sudha Nair, the resort’s own wellness manager and resident healer, who brings over two decades of experience in naturopathy and yoga across India, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam.

The retreat is built around three interlocking ideas: returning the nervous system to calm, cultivating emotional resilience in the face of difficulty, and accessing a deeper state of stillness where clarity and inspired action naturally arise. Over three days, guests move through a layered programme of breathwork, somatic practices, energy healing, yoga and meditation, each session designed to build on the last.

What makes this edition particularly compelling is the collaboration between Judy and Sudha, who will co-facilitate every session rather than dividing the programme between them. General Manager Marcel Oostenbrink describes the guest response to last year’s programme as remarkable, with participants reporting shifts that continued long after they returned home.

The spa itself sets a fitting stage. Rooted in the teachings of Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, the Heart of the Earth Spa weaves crystal singing bowls, overwater treatment villas and tropical lotus lagoons into a philosophy that moves with the rhythms of nature rather than against them. The retreat is further supported by the resort’s Balance Menu, a mindful eating programme centred on fresh, unprocessed ingredients that encourages guests to reconnect with the body’s own natural signals.

For anyone ready to trade overstimulation for genuine stillness, Ha My Beach in August is a quietly compelling invitation.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Four Season The Nam Hai
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