IRENE FORTE welcomes us into her country cottage on her famous family’s Surrey estate
ON LOVE, LIFE AND LEARNING FROM HER HOTEL TYCOON FATHER SIR ROCCO
For someone whose father is one of the most famous hotel magnates in the world, fellow entrepreneur Irene Forte isn’t very good at kicking back and relaxing.
“I take what I call ‘ workations’, when I work from nice places,” says Sir Rocco’s 32-year-old daughter with wife Aliai, welcoming
hello! to the Forte family’s 1,800- acre Surrey estate – where the charming fivebedroom Ripley Cottage, in the grounds of the main house, is the place Irene calls home when not in London.
It was here the founder of beauty brand Irene Forte Skincare and her then fiancé, technical entrepreneur Felix Winckler – they have since married – decamped when the first lockdown hit, along with her sister Lydia, brotherin-law Dimitri Chandris and their young son Johnny, as well as her brother Charles and his girlfriend Georgie.
“It was a family decision that we would all be together,” she tells us. “Then the first weekend, my sister went down with Covid and three days later, my dad, then me, so we all ended up isolating in different rooms.
“Once we were able to all hang out, though, it was lovely. Before the pandemic, I was travelling three times a week for work and I’d done that for years, so to have that much quality time with the family and to get to see so much of my young nephew was really nice.”
Few could have guessed back then that we would only now, 18 months later, be regaining the freedoms lost to us during the pandemic.
It’s a subject about which her 76-year-old father, the founder and chairman of Rocco Forte Hotels, which has properties across Europe, China and Russia, has been very outspoken, calling the lockdowns “nonsense” and saying there had been “a huge overreaction” to the outbreak.
He added that the rules imposed on travel and the hospitality sector across the world had cost him in excess of £100m – June’s opening of the group’s new hotel in Palermo, the Villa Igiea, was almost a year behind schedule.
“The situation is getting a little better,” says Irene. “But rules still change from one minute to the next and it’s not a sustainable situation for the industry.
“Thankfully the business was in a very strong financial position before the pandemic and that allowed it to survive, and I guess borrow more and continue developing.
“My father is so resilient and positive – always – and he’s no spring chicken so I’m always pretty
‘Dad has instilled in us that you don’t get successful by waiting for things to happen’
impressed,” she adds. “He is an amazing role model. Entrepreneurs have to really believe they are going to succeed and despite huge challenges over the years, my dad has always remained passionate and positive and driven.
“He works so hard and has instilled in my sister, my brother and I that you don’t get successful by waiting for things to happen.”
That is not all Irene has gained from her father. She has also inherited his love for sport and fitness – Sir Rocco still works out every day and remains hugely competitive, with marathon runner Irene saying he switched to cycling after she started to run faster than him.
STEPPING OUT ON HER OWN
Irene worked for the family firm for almost a decade until, last November, she left to focus on her skincare range. She had long had a love of beauty and wellness but it was in 2014, when she was appointed brand manager at Rocco Forte Hotels, that the seeds for her own company were sown.
Her new role included overseeing all the group’s spas and she decided they should
‘Just as I believe the Mediterranean diet is best for us food-wise, the skincare line is a similar concept’
introduce a range of products for guests that would unify their brand.
“I wanted something that was natural, but not naive; something that was guided by science and also something Italian, as the majority of our hotels are in Italy.”
Unable to find what she was looking for, Irene set about investigating how she could create it herself, using ingredients from the organic farm at the company’s Verdura Resort in Sicily, home to its flagship 43,000sq ft spa.
But it was when she met pharmacologist Dr Francesca Ferri, who has more than 35 years of experience and is a pioneer in the medical use of plant extracts to treat skin conditions, that Irene’s “crazy idea on the side” really took off.
Together they started to collaborate on products featuring ingredients such as hibiscus – “it’s proven to be a serious anti-wrinkle ingredient, a bit like Botox” – and “skin- plumping” pistachio and prickly pear, which she calls “the plant version of hyaluronic acid – it acts like a sponge and can hold a thousand times its weight in water”.
“Everything is very scientifically calculated to provide maximum benefits. We don’t just put things in for the sake of it and our formulations are clinically proven to ensure effectiveness.
“For instance, we use a vegan organic white wine from a vineyard called Di Giovanna – a really delicious wine – because it is a fantastic antioxidant.”
But Covid has presented challenges. “Spas were my bread-and-butter business so when they were forced to close, it was a case of: ‘Okay, so am I going
‘Spas were my bread-and-butter business, so when they were forced to close with Covid, it was a case of: “Am I going to let this flop, or am I going to refocus?”’
to let this flop, or am I going to refocus?’ So during lockdown, I concentrated on expanding more into retail and growing our digital platform.”
CELEBRITY FANS
Described as “the Mediterranean diet for the skin”, Irene Forte Skincare range is stocked by 26 retailers globally, including Liberty and Net- A- Porter, with Nordstrom and Bergdorf Goodman in the US joining them later this year. Fans include actress Cressida Bonas, former Made in Chelsea star Caggie Dunlop and businesswoman Chelsy Davy. “Just as I believe the Mediterranean diet is best for us food-wise, because it’s about promoting long-term health and longevity, the skincare line is a similar concept,” says Irene.
“I don’t believe in ripping off layers of skin or doing something that might have some short-term gain, but in providing the skin with a wealth of nourishing and hydrating ingredients.”
Despite her busy year, it hasn’t been all work for the businesswoman – last September, she and 35-year-old Felix married in a small and intimate service in London.
“We had 12 people at the town hall and 30 at the dinner afterwards, which we held at my parents’ home in Chelsea and it was just really lovely,” she says.
However, not everything went to plan. Putting a stylish spin on bridal white, Irene’s wedding outfit was a chic Yves St Laurent tuxedo jacket with wide-legged couturier trousers and Aquazzura heels, but, she recalls: “The trousers didn’t arrive until the wedding day itself and then they didn’t fit properly, so I had to take them in as an emergency. But it all came good in the end.”
She’s not the only one in her circle of friends to opt for a lockdown wedding: her friend Cressida kept things small when she married property developer Harry Wentworth-Stanley last July, as did Princess Beatrice, to whom Irene is also close, and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, who married in a private ceremony in
‘It’s defifinitely been made more acceptable to do smaller weddings’
Windsor the same month. “It’s definitely been made more acceptable to do smaller weddings and people understand you can’t invite everyone,” says Irene. “The way we did it isn’t for everyone, but it was right for us. I’ve got a few friends who aren’t married yet who’ve said: ‘Actually, that’s what I’d like to do, too.’ I guess we’re at that age – everyone seemed to get engaged over the last few years.”
NEXT GENERATION
Babies are also starting to arrive. Irene’s sister Lydia recently welcomed her second child, a daughter named Aliai after their mother; Beatrice is expecting and her sister Princess Eugenie also became a mum this year. While Irene hasn’t met the royal’s little boy August yet, she hopes to soon.
For now, the entrepreneur’s focus is on her brand.
“I learnt so much about business from working for Dad’s company and it gave me an incredible head start. I think he always saw I was very driven and wanted to show I could be successful in my own right.
“I love what I do with a passion and that’s a very fortunate position to be in.”
‘We held our wedding dinner at my parents’ home in Chelsea and it was just really lovely’