STYLE DESTINATION: MUSTIQUE

Nestled in the Caribbean archipelago of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the island is best known for its high-profile habitués, from royalty to rock stars. But theatrical set designer Oliver Messel is the man behind Mustique’s real magic

- TRACEY MINKIN

Quite the coincidence, I think, taking in a regal view of the Grenadines from my villa’s high, sweeping terrace: Mystique and Mustique are nearly the same word. I peer down to the private island’s shorelines below, where I know that a Bali-inspired confection that was the treasured escape for David Bowie and Iman is tucked among the palms, that the designer Tommy Hilfiger constructed his own resplendent compound nearby, and that Mick Jagger, rock and roll dean of Mustique, has long kept houses here. I look across the verdant slopes to another ridge, where billionaire and F1 mogul Lawrence Stroll hangs out, flying his wife and grown kids in on various private jets for low-key family time. I know that not long before I was on the island, William and Kate, Prince and Princess of Wales, were here for a getaway. I also know that earlier in the day I passed Daniel Craig out for a run, and 007 threw me a friendly wave. Because if I’m on Mustique, I must be OK on Mustique. The spoils of being here include a temporary cloak of mystique.

Of course, there are other tropical hideaways for the very rich and the very famous: St. Barts, the BVIs, Palm Beach. But what sets Mustique apart is not only its famed promise of privacy (its tiny private airport screens out paparazzi and prying eyes), but something surprisingly important: its design ethos. And those two hallmarks have everything to do with the Scotsman who bought the island in 1958 and the Londoner who dressed it up.