State of Play Carnival in Rio de Janeiro
After toasting the end of another successful year, Hayley Leaver caught up with Cooper Hefner at the Playboy Club London to talk graduation and those take-over rumours
to cause a stir in its stylish corner of Mayfair. It is perhaps no surprise that the brand has therefore continued to spread its new wave of entertainment and gaming venues around the world – with Cologne, Cancun and Goa all receiving the bunny treatment. Will these new arrivals spark a new regime though? Tat was certainly the question on my mind when I caught up with Hugh Hefner’s 21-year-old son, Cooper, during his visit to Playboy Club London. In London to host the Mayfair club’s New
W
Year’s Eve party, Cooper is currently dividing his time between completing his studies at Chapman University, California and learning the ropes of the family business, before he graduates this summer. He says: ‘I’m currently spending half of my time at university and the other half learning about how the company is run, meeting with different executives and learning about the
32
waterfrontmagazines.co.uk
ith performances by the likes of Grace Jones and Mark Ronson in 2012, the Playboy Club London has continued
business. I’ll be done with school in six months and I look forward to the day everyday when I get to be chapter two of this iconic brand.
in the world, and what I’m learning in those conversations I would have never be able to learn in school.’
Cooper is also using this time to decide “Cooper and Hef” ‘In the meantime I have this really incredible
opportunity to meet with these people who are running one of the most incredible companies
on what his Playboy role will be once he has completed his studies. He adds: ‘Tere have been a lot of conversations about what my dad would like me to do and I think what is most important is to do what I want to do. My dad has always been very public about wanting me and my brother to take over when we were younger and it wasn’t really something I could properly investigate until I was an adult. When I learned about the history of the brand is when I really become motivated to be involved though. ‘Te brand stood for something very important in the 1950s and 1960s, challenging social norms, and the fact that I could be the guy that continued that legacy – it doesn’t really get any better than that.’ Admitting his father “will never retire”, Cooper hopes to work alongside him once he joins the company full time later this year. ‘My aspirations for the brand are to remind people of who we were and what we can be,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68