Sandra‘s Closet

Switzerland turns 735 today. For a country this composed, that is a remarkable run, and the 1st of August still feels less like a parade and more like a quiet family celebration that happens to involve an entire nation.

I was not born here. I am German, and I came to Switzerland for what was meant to be a short chapter. The chapter turned into a life. Years later I received my Swiss passport, and I still count that among the proudest days I have had. A country you are given by birth is a fact. A country you choose, and that eventually chooses you back, is closer to a love story. Wahlheimat, we say in German. Chosen home. It makes today rather personal.

What I love most is how much this small country manages to hold. Water so clear you can count the stones under six metres of it. Mountains that look computer generated until you are standing in front of them.

In winter those same mountains become the best skiing on earth, from the first cable car up in Zermatt with the Matterhorn watching over your shoulder to a long, sunny lunch on a terrace in St. Moritz before the last run down.

Vineyards above Lake Geneva, palm trees in Ticino, glaciers in Valais, and all of it reachable by a train that arrives at the minute it promised. World class cities you can cross on foot, with a hiking trail and total silence thirty minutes away. Grand hotels holding a century of stories in the lobby, and lakeside bathhouses where people swim before work. Very few places offer both.

Then comes the part the rest of the world knows us for. Art Basel, the most important fair in the international art market since 1970, which this June brought 290 galleries from 43 countries into a single city.

Watches and Wonders in Geneva, the biggest watch fair in the world, with 66 maisons at Palexpo in April and Audemars Piguet finally back among them. The cheese, the chocolate, the wheels of Gruyère and the boxes of pralinés that make every Swiss suitcase heavier on the way out than on the way in.

And next Saturday, the 8th of August, Zurich becomes the world’s largest techno party when the Street Parade takes over the lake basin with close to a million people dancing along the water. Bankers by day, ravers by night. Nowhere else do discretion and hedonism share a postcode quite so happily.

Fashion has noticed all of it, usually with a perfectly straight face. Prada once sent out a pale yellow openwork knit that the internet immediately and correctly identified as a slice of Emmentaler, priced at just over 900 pounds.

Jeremy Scott mined the same seam for years at Moschino, with melting chocolate handbags that looked good enough to lick, a whole Moschino Farms season of cows and barnyard prints, and, in fall 2021, a wool jacket trimmed with real cowbells.

Burberry has put cow print on silk dresses and mini skirts, which any farmer in Appenzell could have confirmed was a classic several decades ago. Alpine kitsch, it turns out, is the one Swiss export the runway simply cannot leave alone.

A few things worth knowing about the date itself. It goes back to the Federal Charter of 1291, when Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden swore to stand by one another, legend says on the Rütli meadow above Lake Lucerne. The document only specifies early August, which is charmingly vague for a nation famous for precision. It was rediscovered in an archive in Schwyz in 1758 and can still be seen there. The first great celebration came in 1891 for the 600th anniversary, and it became annual from 1899. What surprises most people is how recent the holiday is.

Until 1993 the 1st of August was an ordinary working day in most cantons. That September, 86.3 percent of voters said yes to a nationwide public holiday, and the first official day off followed in 1994. Very Swiss, that. Nothing happens until everybody has voted on it.

Traditionally the day belongs to bonfires on the hills, lanterns carried through the streets by children, church bells at eight and an alphorn making everyone go quiet for a moment. This year the celebrations are more restrained in many places, which suits the occasion better than you might think. The Swiss have never needed spectacle to know exactly who they are.

Happy Birthday, Switzerland. Danke für alles.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht / Rian Davidson / David Biedert Photography and @kazmva0
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Noon at Globus Zurich, first floor, and the beauty department has a beautiful centre of gravity: two counters standing side by side, Memo Paris and its more secretive younger sister, Floraïku Paris. Waiting to welcome us was John Molloy, the Irishman who built both maisons with his wife Clara, a glass of something chilled in hand and a story ready for every bottle.

I could have listened to him all afternoon. Somewhere between the neroli and the vanilla we discovered that John shares a birthday with my daughter, one of those small coincidences that makes a conversation feel like a reunion. He had come bearing gifts, too: salt from Menorca, gathered on the island where he and Clara keep a house and spend a good part of the year. The timing was perfect, because Menorca is also the name of Memo Paris’s newest fragrance.

Memo Paris, founded in 2007, has always treated perfume as a form of travel, each scent the memory of a place. Menorca, composed by Sophie Labbé, is that island at first light.

Menorca, Memo Paris
Top: bergamot, lemon, ginger
Heart: neroli, iris, carrot seed
Base: salty musk, mineral notes, sandalwood

It opens bright and sunlit, then settles closer to the skin: neroli warmed by iris and earthy carrot seed, before a salted, mineral musk arrives like seawater drying on the arm after a morning swim. Knowing that John and Clara truly live that landscape of salt flats, dry stone walls and limewashed houses made the scent feel less like a launch and more like an invitation into their summer.

The second house, though, was the one I had really come to understand. Floraïku Paris is the Molloys’ quieter masterpiece. Born in 2017 after a journey to Japan, it takes its name from the haiku, and Clara writes a short poem to accompany every scent. Where Memo carries you across the world, Floraïku slows everything to the pace of a tea ceremony. The collection is organised into three rituals: Enigmatic Flowers, Secret Teas and Spices, and Forbidden Incense.

Each bottle hides inside a lacquered bento box, its sculpted cap lifting away to become a travel spray. John’s years in fashion, including a long chapter at Kenzo, show in this almost obsessive attention to object and gesture, while Clara, who spent a year learning Japanese, gave the house its soul. I had the pleasure of meeting her on another occasion, when she passed through Zurich. You can read about that afternoon at Odéon here.

The fragrance at the heart of the day was Sand and Skin, revisited this season as a Limited Edition.

Sand and Skin Limited Edition, Floraïku Paris
Top: Lysylang and Mahonial (luminous ylang and soft mimosa facets)
Heart: amyris, sandalwood, cedar, patchouli, ylang-ylang
Base: Madagascar vanilla, benzoin, labdanum

Warm, golden and unmistakably sensual, it is Madagascar vanilla and benzoin melting into ylang-ylang, wood and resin, the scent of skin that has spent a whole day in the sun. Here the afternoon closed a beautiful circle.

The artist quietly sketching our portraits, Mauro Carraro from Geneva, is the very illustrator who dressed this Limited Edition, his signature midnight blue and gold leaf drawn into sinuous ropes that move like sand across the cap. To be drawn by the same hand that shaped the bottle, on the day of its Zurich debut, is exactly the kind of detail Floraïku does so beautifully.

We ended where every good story should, upstairs at Roofgarden Globus, lunch above the rooftops of the city, the light long and the conversation unhurried.

Menorca, CHF 275. Sand and Skin Limited Edition, CHF 320. Both now available at the Memo Paris and Floraïku Paris counters, Globus Zurich, Beauty Department, first floor.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht and Andrea Monica Hug for Memo Paris
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An Evening of Leather and High Jewelry: YVY x Bvlgari in Zurich

Stepping into the YVY showroom, I was immediately reminded why Yvonne Reichmuth is one of the most exciting names in Swiss design. The evening brought together two worlds that, on paper, could not be more different: the sensual, handcrafted leather universe of YVY and the Roman glamour of Bvlgari. In reality, the pairing felt effortless, bold, and refreshingly new.

Wonderful Yvonne Reichmuth with me

Yvonne has built her reputation on leather, above all her signature corset belts, sculptural statement pieces that have become true collector’s items. What surprised me most that evening was discovering how far her vision reaches beyond accessories. Her showroom revealed a whole range of beautiful garments, each one carrying her unmistakable signature: precise craftsmanship, a strong silhouette, and that perfect balance between edge and elegance.

What made the collaboration with Bvlgari so compelling was the courage behind it. Instead of following the usual event formula, both houses dared to try something different, to walk a new path and to let their aesthetics speak to each other. Supple leather next to a gleaming mix of white and yellow gold creates a tension that is impossible to resist, and the guests clearly felt it too.

Culinary surprises were part of the evening as well. Star chef Ralph Schelling treated us to a completely unexpected menu, entirely vegetarian and absolutely delicious, proving once again that plant-based cuisine can be every bit as luxurious as the setting it is served in. Paired with generously flowing champagne, his creations added yet another layer of indulgence to the night and kept the conversations sparkling until late.

The crowd itself was one of the highlights of the night. Loyal YVY clients mingled with Bvlgari devotees, quite a few of whom I was delighted to see again, while I also met wonderful new faces. This kind of mix is exactly what makes an evening memorable: genuine conversations, shared passions, and the feeling that everyone in the room truly appreciates craftsmanship.

With beautiful Christa Rigozzi and Yvonne Reichmuth

For the occasion, I put together an outfit inspired by Yvonne’s aesthetic, the world of Bvlgari, and, with a wink, the current football fever sweeping the country. All the details on my look will follow very soon in a separate post, so stay tuned.

The evening’s mastermind Christelle Huwiler.

I have to confess that my arrival was slightly more dramatic than planned. Shortly before the event, I found myself quite literally stuck in a dress that refused to let me go, and in the end it had to be cut open to free me. Not every evening starts with a pair of scissors, but it certainly makes for a good story, and it made the glamour that awaited me at YVY all the sweeter.

Evenings like this one prove that Swiss design and Italian high jewellery share more common ground than one might think: a love of beauty, a devotion to craft, and the confidence to break new ground. Grazie, Bvlgari, and merci, Christelle and Yvonne, for a truly special night in Zurich.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht/ Zosia Prominska
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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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The Alpina Gstaad x Harry’s Bar: A London Favourite Returns to the Alps

Gstaad is speaking with an Italian accent this summer. From July 18 to 31, 2026, the legendary London private members’ club Harry’s Bar returns to The Alpina Gstaad for its first ever summer residency, trading Mayfair for mountain air and bringing its celebrated Northern Italian cuisine to an al fresco setting in the heart of the Swiss Alps.

This collaboration holds a special place in my heart. As a Committee Member at Annabel’s, which belongs to the Birley Clubs family just like Harry’s Bar, I know first hand the magic these houses create: impeccable food, effortless glamour and that rare feeling of being among friends the moment you walk in. Seeing a piece of this world transplanted to Gstaad, where Harry’s Bar so rarely appears outside its London home, feels like a little gift to the Alps.

Expect long, convivial lunches in the alpine sunshine that melt into stylish evenings under the open sky, with the club’s timeless signature dishes taking centre stage. After a successful winter appearance in February, Club Director Luciano Porcu promises a summer entirely in the spirit of Harry’s Bar: excellent food, even better company. A presto!

When to go:
Dinner is served daily from 7:00 pm to 10:30 pm throughout the residency. From Friday to Sunday, lunch is also available from 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Alpina Gstaad / Harry’s Bar
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Sephora Turns 10 in Switzerland: Join Me at the Beauty Party of the Summer

Ten years ago, Sephora arrived in Switzerland and changed the way we shop for beauty. On July 9th, the brand is throwing a birthday party worthy of the occasion, and the best part? You are all invited.

Sephora Switzerland is taking over the Soluna Beach Club on Lake Zurich for one glamorous summer evening, bringing together press, creators, brands and the entire Swiss beauty community. Expect interactive brand activations, surprise moments and plenty of product samples from favourites such as MAKEUP BY MARIO, TATCHA, tarte, OLE HENRIKSEN, AESTURA, ghd and Sephora Collection.

The celebrations will continue beyond the party. Together with its long-standing partner Manor, Sephora is planning a series of exclusive summer apéros in Manor stores across the country in August, so keep your eyes open for details.

The event is open to the public (18+) and admission is free. Simply reserve your ticket here.  ​

WHEN | Thursday, July 9th, 2026  ​
TIME | From 5pm onward​
WHERE | Soluna Beach Club​
Bellerivestrasse 264, 8008 Zurich

A decade of beauty deserves a proper toast, and where better than at the lake? See you there, my loves!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht and Courtesy of Sephora and Soluna Beach Club
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Last Thursday felt like the perfect start to Art Weekend in Zurich. With Art Basel about to begin, the city was already buzzing with collectors, artists, curators, and friends arriving from all over the world. There was a special energy in the air, the kind that only comes once a year when the art world gathers in Switzerland.

With General Manager Mandarin Oriental Savoy Dominik G. Reiner and German Artist Paul Schrader

My evening started at the Mandarin Oriental Savoy Zurich, where I attended an intimate reception for German artist Paul Schrader, whose works are currently on display throughout the hotel. I was particularly impressed by how naturally his pieces fit into the elegant surroundings of the Savoy.

His work has a quiet confidence that immediately draws you in without demanding attention. Just as enjoyable as the exhibition was meeting Paul himself, warm, approachable, and refreshingly down-to-earth.

With Christoph Niemann at Tao’s

Later, I joined Galerie Gmurzynska for a dinner at Tao’s celebrating the opening of Christoph Niemann’s exhibition. Niemann is one of those rare artists whose work manages to be clever, playful, and sophisticated at the same time. His ability to transform everyday ideas into visual stories has earned him international recognition, and the exhibition is a wonderful reflection of that creativity.

What made the evening truly special, however, were the people. The conversations flowed effortlessly, old friendships were renewed, new connections were made, and there was a shared excitement for the week ahead.

Tao’s Zurich

A wonderful evening, a beautiful reminder of why Zurich becomes such a captivating place every June, and the perfect beginning to what promises to be an inspiring Art Basel week.

LoL, Sandra

With wonderful Galerist Isabelle Bscher of Galerie Gmurzynska

Friends for a long time: Marco Diemer 

Handbag designer Peter Nitz with whom I hosted an event for Patek Philippe a few years ago.

Photos: Courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Savoy and © Sandra Bauknecht
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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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