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Sex & Relationships
Playboy Undercover: The Almost 40-Year-Old Virgin "I am 38 and I still haven’t had my first kiss yet—which means yes.… I am a virgin too."
An interior designer with 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Cenk Fikri is passionate about the culture of entertaining. Cypriot-born and London-raised, Cenk (pronounced Jenk, in case there’s any confusion), has always taken a 360-degree approach to his work, even starting out as a bartender in London nightclubs. To create a multi-dimensional experience, you need to take a multi-dimensional approach. “For an idea to succeed you need to personalize it,” he says. His vision for the Playboy Club New York has finally been realized and the result is transportive, to say the least. Here, he talks to us about how this vision came to be.
How did you first get involved in this endeavor?
I first heard of the project and the fact that there was a Playboy Club coming to New York by a friend of mine Roberto LaVecchia. I soon got the privilege of meeting the people behind the Club and was immediately taken on as the lead designer, from which things have just sort of snowballed. It’s been moving at such a fast pace. It’s been exciting.
Tell us a little bit about your history.
I’ve been in the hospitality world for all my working life. I started as a bartender and sort of moved up the ladder at an operations level. My background is from London, so this was all originally back in London. I realized there was a void in having a synergy between operations and interior design, having dealt with so many interior designers and architects as an operator. To fill that void, I thought I would set up my own company and eventually bring everything in-house, providing one-stop-shop service from conceptualization to interior design to brand collateral and branding and operations.
What was the process like for the conceptualization all the way through to the realization of the Playboy Club? Where did most of the inspiration come from?
It was pretty easy, actually because we’re dealing with Playboy at the end of the day. The brand is synonymous with a certain lifestyle, one that possesses a level of sophistication and intrigue. There’s an element of romanticism in there. I wanted to stay true to what that means, stay true to the heritage of the brand. That was the inspiration behind it. We had to fulfill a certain expectation, not only for the brand but in order to take the brand forward for the next few decades. We had to introduce design elements in there that are not only classic but also current – and timeless. It’s about finding that balance.
What does Playboy inherently bring to the table that makes this easy, so to speak, or at least uncomplicated from a conceptual perspective?
Like I said, Playboy spells decadence and sophistication. From a design perspective, it’s like taking the brakes off a Ferrari. You know, here you go! This is the baby you need to create and it’s exciting. It’s that level of decadence that for an interior designer, you almost feel like you’re creative is no-holds-barred.
How does that translate literally?
We have a base which is timeless, right? It was there throughout the fifties and sixties. We have the wood paneling on the walls, all the sophisticated millwork with the brass insets, the herringbone patent floors, the custom marbling flooring as well: This is really the base. From that point, we elevate it with rich, velvet materials and elements of soft gold.
I think that we obviously had to do our due diligence in terms of what the Mansion was about and what the Playboy Clubs of the previous generations were about. That was our inspiration, our start. We knew what we were dealing in terms of the quality factor and appeal. We also wanted to revitalize the brand for today’s world to take it further into the next generation or two.
What kind of techniques do you apply to bring it into the future?
Every detail from once the foundation is decided on – the wall coverings, the lighting, the custom furniture fabricated and coming from Europe: All those details contribute to the sense of retro glamour we created, and it is retro glamour at its finest. It’s pure luxury. It’s not like any other club.
From a design perspective, there’s an immense attention to detail here. There’s layer upon layer in the Club. As you take your journey throughout the Club and if you have the privilege of going down into the Rabbit Hole, it blows your mind. Every surface you look at and touch gets more and more detailed, more elevated, in terms of detail and quality.
What are you most excited about in the Club?
The Rabbit Hole. It’s phenomenal. It’s this sort of subterranean jewel box that houses a 250-pound chandelier full of crystals and gold. It’s another world down there. Other than that, there’s detail everywhere. It’s not like walking into a regular nightclub with some paint on the walls. You’re going to be sitting in a super-exclusive, well-thought-out space that spells, “Hey, we’ve arrived.”
What does Playboy mean to you on a philosophical level?
It’s intriguing. It’s fun. It almost reminds me of those James Bond days when he was played by Sean Connery. And everyone wanted to be Sean Connery and everybody wanted to have the lifestyle of 007. He would be spending his time at this club, absolutely.
