Sandra‘s Closet

An unforgettable weekend in Mallorca – Part 1

In fashion, white is the ultimate statement of effortless elegance. Timeless, sophisticated and always chic. But sometimes, white is more than just a colour. It becomes the dress code for unforgettable memories.

Last weekend brought me back together with some of my dearest and oldest friends from Munich, this time under the Mediterranean sky of Mallorca, to celebrate a very special 60th birthday.

Birthday boy – 60 has never looked better!

And while the weather had other plans, forcing us to switch the festivities around, nothing could dampen our spirits.

Our White Night took place on Saturday at my dear friend’s breathtaking home, a private paradise that could easily be mistaken for an exclusive boutique hotel.

Dressed in white, surrounded by familiar faces, laughter and that wonderful feeling of being among people who have known you forever, the evening was simply magical.

After recently celebrating together in Munich, it was another beautiful reminder that the best things in life never go out of style: true friendship, shared memories and the joy of being together.

Because some friendships, just like a perfect white outfit, are timeless.
Thank you, Christina and Michael!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
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Some nights are simply too good to end. Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the VIP Opening of PINK RABBIT at AURA Zurich, and what an evening it was!

Now in its seventh season, PINK RABBIT takes the traditional dinner show to another level. Think spectacular international performers, breathtaking acrobatics, a little magic, music, and just the right amount of sensuality. All brought together in an immersive setting with stunning 360-degree projections and visual effects.

And then there’s the food. A delicious four-course dinner served between performances makes the entire evening feel like one continuous celebration.

But what made the night particularly special for me was the atmosphere. A fabulous crowd, wonderful conversations, lots of laughter, dancing and that infectious energy you get when everyone is genuinely having a great time. We certainly did! A huge thank you to Nina and Philip for the lovely invitation and for such a memorable evening.

For anyone in Zurich, or planning a visit, PINK RABBIT definitely deserves a spot on your social calendar. It’s glamorous, playful, a little unexpected and, above all, incredibly entertaining.

Zurich, follow the pink rabbit until Dec 31, 2026. You won’t regret it! 🐰💗

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
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Beauty, Honestly: A Lunch with Dr. Kelly Vasileiadou

A beauty talk among women, honest, inspiring and delicious. Recently, I had the pleasure of hosting an intimate lunch and Q&A with Dr. Kelly Vasileiadou at Club zum Rennweg in Zurich, and what unfolded over the following hours was less a panel talk than a candid conversation among women, the kind you wish you could bottle.

Let me introduce you to Dr. Kelly Vasileiadou, a Swiss board certified specialist surgeon and the founder and CEO of the Dr. Kelly Group in Zug. Her path reads like a masterclass in determination: medical studies in Greece, years as a surgeon at the University Hospital of Basel, further training in Munich, Miami and Singapore, and today more than 15,000 procedures and treatments to her name. She has developed her own signature injection protocol, the Kelly Lift, as well as a medical skincare line that, in her words, was not born in marketing but in the operating theatre.

What sets her apart, though, is not the CV. It is the philosophy. Dr. Kelly believes in natural results and long term thinking rather than fleeting trends, and she is refreshingly unafraid to say no. When I asked whether she ever turns patients away, she did not hesitate. A filtered selfie, she told us, is not a treatment plan. In an era of the so called Instagram Face, hearing a surgeon champion restraint felt almost radical.

And then there were my guests. A table of wonderful, accomplished, curious women who asked exactly the questions we all quietly carry with us. When should one really start with prevention? What makes a facelift look fresh rather than done? Is hybrid breast augmentation truly the future? Nothing was off limits, and that was precisely the beauty of it. Woman to woman, without taboos, without judgment, with plenty of laughter in between.

By the time the espresso arrived, one thing was clear: this conversation is far from over. I am delighted to share that Dr. Kelly has agreed to sit down with me for an in depth interview here on Sandra’s Closet.

And this is where you come in, my dears. What would you ask a top aesthetic surgeon if you had her all to yourself? Whether it is about skincare, surgery, ageing gracefully or the one myth you have always wanted debunked, send me a message to , and I will put your best ones directly to Dr. Kelly.

Because the best beauty conversations, like the best lunches, are always shared.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht / Sanjeev Velmurugan
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Let’s Talk Hormones: A Lunch with Sunday Natural at the Club zum Rennweg

Sunlight was falling through the windows of the Club zum Rennweg, the table was laid in white, and for once a Zurich lunch was not about hemlines or handbags. It was about the invisible orchestra that conducts our bodies every single day. Together with Sunday Natural, I had invited a group of wonderful women to an afternoon under the title «Let’s Talk Hormones», and what unfolded was one of the most open and honest exchanges I have hosted in a long time.

Our guest of honour was Dr. Katharina Maria Burkhardt from Vienna, a specialist in endocrinology, who gave us a rare insight into how hormones truly work together. Estrogen and progesterone, thyroid hormones, cortisol and insulin do not act in isolation. They speak to each other constantly, and when one voice rises or falls, the others answer. Stress, for instance, keeps cortisol elevated, which in turn can disturb ovulation and lower progesterone. Thyroid function influences the availability of our sex hormones, and estrogen in return affects how the thyroid is regulated. Little wonder that the majority of us experience hormone related symptoms at some point in our lives, from fatigue and mood swings to irregular cycles and the many faces of perimenopause and menopause.

What I found most encouraging was the professor’s message that we are not powerless. Sleep, nutrition, movement and stress management form the foundation, and where the body lacks certain nutrients, targeted high quality supplementation can support the system in finding its balance again. Which brought us, quite naturally, to our partner for the day.

Me with the lovely Sunday Natural team (from left to right): Clarissa Boeker, Miriam Blendorf-Preusche, Sandra Gehlen, and Stefanie Befort.

Sunday Natural was founded in Berlin a little over a decade ago out of frustration with the quality of supplements on the market. The founder wanted to create the kind of products they would take themselves and recommend to their own families. The result is a philosophy they call the True Clean Label: naturally sourced, bioactive ingredients, gently extracted, laboratory tested, free from GMOs and from the controversial additives, fillers and binders that so many capsules still contain. Even the capsule shells are kept pure. With its own research and development team and a range of more than a thousand products, from vitamin D3 and magnesium to adaptogens and fine Japanese teas, Sunday Natural has become the fastest growing premium nutrition brand in the German speaking world. Clarity, cleanliness and uncompromising quality are the three words I would choose for it, and after this afternoon I understand why so many women in my circle already swear by it.

The menu was created around Sunday Natural products, and it was extremely delicious, proof that conscious eating and true pleasure are not opposites. Between courses, the conversation flowed freely. Women shared their own experiences, asked the questions they had never dared to ask their doctors, and left with notebooks full of ideas and a new sense of ease about a topic that still carries far too much silence.

Thank you to Sunday Natural for a partnership that felt so effortless, to the Club zum Rennweg for the perfect setting, and to every woman at the table for her openness. This was only the beginning of the conversation.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht / Anastasia Diadio @diadio.anastasia
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NEW OPENING: THE VÖLKERS HOUSE
Richard Meier Designs an Extraordinary Country Estate in the Southeast of Mallorca

Between the rolling hills of Campos and the artist-filled lanes of Santanyí, a new kind of refuge has arrived in the southeast of Mallorca. THE VÖLKERS HOUSE, set on a 28-hectare estate, is the realised vision of Christian Völkers, founder of the global real estate company Engel & Völkers, and his wife Ninon Völkers: a modern country estate that brings architecture, nature and Argentine savoir-vivre into an extraordinary dialogue.

Shaped by the designs of Pritzker Prize laureate Richard Meier, the estate unites visionary architecture with the authentic beauty of Mallorca. Light, space and landscape merge into an atmosphere of remarkable lightness. Instead of a conventional hotel experience, guests discover a sanctuary that celebrates calm, privacy and the art of conscious travel.

With just 15 generous suites with oasis-like gardens, spread across four houses, THE VÖLKERS HOUSE remains deliberately exclusive. Days begin with views over the island’s fields, unfold into long lunches al fresco and end in the warm glow of the Mediterranean evening sun. The culinary heart of the estate is its restaurant LA CANCHA, where Mediterranean traditions meet Latin American influences, following a farm-to-table philosophy with regional produce and herbs and vegetables from the estate’s own garden.

Argentine equestrian culture defines the identity of the property and forms the heart of the grounds. With its elegant Equestrian Centre, a grandstand overlooking the polo field and nearly 100 horses, THE VÖLKERS HOUSE continues the tradition of the great country estates and gives it a contemporary interpretation.

Wellbeing comes courtesy of the in-house spa, curated by Celia Forner Venturi, founder of the international skincare brand ALLEVEN. The first spa of its kind, it offers a luxurious menu of treatments for skin and body, complemented by sports and individually curated island experiences, always far from standard programmes and entirely in tune with each guest’s own rhythm.

THE VÖLKERS HOUSE translates the spirit of Mallorca into a contemporary idea of luxury: pared back yet generous in its architecture, close to nature and consistently personal in every experience.

To book or for more in formation, please visit www.thevoelkershouse.com / @thevoelkershouse.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: James McDonald, Harry Weber, Ana Adriana and The Völkers House
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Loro Piana just answered a grey sky in the only way it knows how: with cashmere. The house has released an umbrella made entirely from 100% cashmere, water sealed with its signature Storm System® membrane so the fabric stays soft to the eye while doing serious work against the rain.

The details read like everything else Loro Piana touches. A smooth maple wood handle. A generous 65 cm radius, wide enough to actually shelter a coat worth protecting. Manual opening, no branding shouting for attention, and a matching pouch it folds neatly into once the clouds pass. Made in Italy, available in two colorways Navy Blue/Kummel or Chestnut/Kummel, priced at CHF 1420 / $1,750, and worth every cent for what it represents rather than what it says.

Because that is the point. Nobody needs a cashmere umbrella. That is exactly why it exists. No logo, no fuss, no attempt to convince anyone of anything. Just the quiet certainty that the person holding it knows precisely what they are holding.

This is quiet luxury at its best. Not a trend, not a marketing line, just a very good umbrella that happens to be made of cashmere.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht / Loro Piana
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You Cannot Be Serious! The Mark Serves Up a $500,000 US Open Weekend
(Aug 30 – Sept 13, 2026)

Imagine trading forehands with John McEnroe in the morning, spooning Caviar Kaspia above the rooftops of Manhattan in the afternoon and sailing past the Statue of Liberty on a private yacht as the sun goes down. The legendary The Mark Hotel in New York has bundled all of this into one spectacular package: the Grand Slam Extravaganza.

For $500,000, up to six guests check into the largest hotel penthouse in North America for four nights during the US Open. The itinerary reads like a tennis lover’s fever dream: exclusive tickets to the semifinals and the men’s final, menus by Jean-Georges, a private chauffeur, a sail through New York Harbor on one of the last original Herreshoff yachts in the world and a terrace with sweeping views over Central Park, all wrapped in the iconic design by Jacques Grange.

The true highlight happens on court though. John McEnroe himself gives guests a private lesson at his tennis academy. Whether a legendary «You cannot be serious!» is part of the deal remains, sadly, not guaranteed.

Between matches, there is plenty of time to recover in the private Technogym, take a cold plunge with skyline views or sip Champagne on deck. And because even the most extravagant luxury can do good, part of the proceeds goes to the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, which supports young talent.

Game, set and match to The Mark.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of THE MARK
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The Mark Hotel and Alessi turn a daily ritual into a limited edition. The black and white stripe is one of the most recognisable patterns in New York hospitality. This fall it arrives somewhere unexpected: on the body of a corkscrew.

The Mark and Alessi have produced a capsule collection, and its centrepiece is a limited edition of the Alessandro M., reinterpreted exclusively for the hotel in its signature stripe. Alessandro Mendini designed the original, one of the Italian design house’s most loved objects, built on the argument that even the most practical things deserve character. Dressed in the codes of The Mark, that argument gains a new setting.

The rest of the capsule follows the same logic. A picnic basket set by Marcel Wanders, a sculptural tray by Nika Zupanc, and Ron Arad‘s Babyboop hors d’oeuvre set, each carrying the hotel’s signature M and each available at Le Shop at The Mark and nowhere else.

Consider it the most elegant answer to the question of what to bring your host, or what to keep for yourself.

THE DETAILS

Alessandro M. corkscrew in black and white thermoplastic resin
Height 8.27 in, diameter 2.36 in
$120
Exclusively at Le Shop, The Mark Hotel, New York

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © The Mark Hotel
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Fun fact: I love watching football, and I love dressing for it even more. Football outfits are a category of their own in my closet, and just wait, I will show you.

My Look: Soccer

But first things first. Congratulations, Murat Yakin. The best Swiss World Cup run in years, ended by a refereeing decision nobody will defend. What a tournament, what a team, and the whole country stood behind them. Switzerland already has the best chocolate, the best watches and the best mountains.

Murat Yakin with me

Now the internet has decided we also have the best looking coach. To all the girls worldwide suddenly interested in Swiss football: hands off, he is very much taken, and his wife is wonderful. Proud of this team. Hopp Schwiiz.

My Look: Let’s Eat Cake

And if you are wondering how this photo happened: pure coincidence, he walked in while I was celebrating my birthday with my girls, and since we know each other, of course he stopped to say hello.

Moments like these remind me why I am so proud to be Swiss. A small country with a big heart, and right now, with a team that gave us every reason to celebrate.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
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Summer holidays are in full swing, and yet CHANEL almost makes me wish for the first day of school. The house has turned the humble geometry set into the chicest collector’s piece of the season, complete with ruler, compass and protractor, all dressed in its unmistakable codes. I was always rather good at geometry, but with this set, my circles would have come out nothing short of couture. No one draws the line quite as elegantly as Chanel, quite literally. Available for € 1,200. Class dismissed!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © CHANEL
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