Exclusive: Tempus’s new edition stars Oscar nominated actor Michael Fassbender

Aficionados of luxury living will be familiar with the Italian expression sprezzatura. Coined in the 16th century by Baldassare Castiglione – a courtier, diplomat and tastemaker – it describes a studied nonchalance; the art of making the difficult look effortless.

In fact, it is one of the founding principles of Acqua di Parma, the Italian fragrance house that is celebrating its 110th anniversary this year with a little help from charismatic Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender. In this issue, the maison’s CEO Giulio Bergamaschi tells me that, in his view, “Elegance, simplicity and light-heartedness are not opposites. They coexist.”

While today sprezzatura is mostly discussed in relation to fashion or the arts, there’s a sense of joy and liberation to this way of being that, in many ways, can inspire us across all parts of life. 

Take our health and wellbeing, for example. In our social media-led wellness-obsessed culture, it can feel like we’re falling behind if we’re not on the grid performing endless checklists of all the things we “should” be doing to better our physical and mental health – step counts, calorie logs, supplement regimes and scheduled self-care. Often, it feels like the very act of optimising our wellbeing is exhausting in itself.

Instead of heightening the pressure we place on ourselves by chasing the latest fads or worrying about the “correct” approach, the sprezzatura philosophy invites us to rethink our relationship with our wellbeing by letting go of the performance and embracing the practice. Whether that’s joining the social wellness club revolution or focusing on our spiritual wellness as part of self-care, the question to ask is, how can we make the wellness industry work for us? 

Far from abandoning discipline or intention, we can instead shift our focus from health being something we chase to something we inhabit – all by focusing on inspiration, repetition and work that disappears into our habits and lifestyle until our effort looks and, most importantly, feels effortless.

Also in this issue, the art of sprezzatura continues with interviews with two of Britain’s most exciting pillars of fashion, designer Harris Reed and Sunspel’s Nicholas Brooke; artist Ini Archibong shares the creation of his magnificent contemporary standing stone to honour Port Ellen; and we examine the unexpected travel trends and understated luxury brands set to dominate 2026 in style.

Enjoy the issue,
Michelle Johnson
Editor-in-chief
Tempus