daytona williams

Daytona Williams is a British multi-talent. Having dropped out of a fashion design degree in Paris, he cut his teeth on the job, working with set designers, stylists and casting directors, before becoming head of women’s luxury buying for a bluechip Parisian department store. In 2021, he turned his eye to publishing, and launched the independent magazine Neptune Papers, which is named after his dog. He currently lives in Paris. 

Home is more of a feeling to me, rather than a place. I’ve grown up travelling and moving every few years, and have lived everywhere from Turkey to the Philippines and New York, as well as on a ranch in Manitoba, Canada, and on the Shetland Islands.

Right now, I live in an apartment on the 6th Arrondissement, but am currently house hunting to move. The dream, if I could live anywhere, would be in a house perched on the sea in Italy. It’s my favourite country for its food, its history and the ‘dolce far niente’ lifestyle — walking through the Italian countryside as the sun sets on a warm day; a cool ocean breeze on sunkissed skin; the waves slowly caressing the sand; a spritz in hand and not a care in the world. That’s my idea of the perfect day. 

That’s why in summer, I love nothing more than having all my windows open and letting the natural sunlight in. Being outside is good for my mental health; I’m a big sufferer of the Sunday Scaries so I tend to spend most time in the sunlight to keep my mind busy, spending days in the park, walking my dog.

But right now, in wintertime, I am a candlelight kind of man at home. I swear by Francisco Costa’s ‘Jungle’ candle from his Costa Brazil beauty line. It’s a warm, comforting smell that is somehow exotic yet intimate. I also love a very hot shower and use these amazing organic and handcrafted soaps from the small-batch, French brand Orris. 

I enjoy self-care rituals at home. The last thirty minutes before I go to sleep, I spend time lathering my face with a rich Bioderma moisturizer, before getting into bed to read — like every self-respecting Parisien, I swear by the French pharmacy brands. At the moment, I’m reading Anna Della Subin’s wonderful new book called Accidental Gods: On Men Unwittingly Turned Divine, which examines why we’ve put certain earthly men on pedestals throughout history. 

To help me drift off, I use the Calm app; nothing aids sleep like listening to Matthew McConaughey’s deep southern voice read me a bedtime story. I listen to audio constantly. The most recent track I added to my playlist is You Sexy Thing by Hot Chocolate — it’s iconic. Otherwise, I have an ongoing obsession with streaming Out of Touch, by Hall and Oates. I have Spotify on from morning until night.

Every morning, I have an oat milk latte. I’m not much of a breakfast person, but you’ll always find oat milk in my fridge. I don’t own a single mug and drink everything, including my coffee, out of a tall glass. 

On the weekends, I wake early and go to sit at the Cafe de la Mairie on Place Saint-Sulpice, and I’ll have a croissant with a black coffee while reading FT Weekend and the weekend edition of Le Monde. 

My biggest guilty pleasure is that I love to go to restaurants. My favourite at the moment is the newly opened seafood restaurant Le Collier de la Reine, while Deviant is good for natural wines, and for pizza I go to Faggio in the 18th arrondissement. 

I do, however, love cooking and hosting dinner parties. My signature 15 minute-meal would be puff pastry covered in pesto, with sliced red onion, peppers, and cherry tomatoes for 12 minutes at 180 degrees. I serve it with some spinach and a drizzle of olive oil — it’s my go-to after-work dinner. And for a quick pick-me-up? I’d opt for a square of dark sea-salt chocolate.

If I had more time to spend in the kitchen, I would cook a recipe I found online for vodka and cayenne pepper rigatoni — cayenne pepper has since taken top place as my preferred spice in the cupboard. I’d eat it with orange wine from my favourite winemaker Vivanterre — I always keep some in my fridge. 

I like to surround myself with things that bring me joy. My must-have appliance is my iron; I steam my clothes every morning — a hangover from my past life as a buyer. While I am more detached from clothing now, I have a few high fashion pieces that I love, such as a camel Dries Van Noten blazer that I wear again and again. Otherwise, my day-to-day uniform is white T-shirts from Uniqlo and cotton Carhartt trousers. My closet is not very organised, though; I have too many clothes for the space. 

I collect books and am very lucky to own some signed editions from people I admire, from Andy Warhol, Juergen Teller to Bruce Weber. But I’d say my favourite object in my home is a ceramic sculpture by the Canadian artist Sylvie Cauchon, that looks just like my dog. 

If I could collect anything, it would be works by American artist Cy Twombly. His use of colours and space on the canvas exudes an abstract lightness and softness that I adore. I’m lucky through my work to meet with new people and discover new things every day. I’ve always been curious. My favourite discovery is often what I have last seen.