Once on This Island

In a secluded Atlantis in the Caribbean, the rich, the royal, and the rock star roam free, and one woman has held court for decades in a villa designed by Oliver Messel known simply as Gingerbread.

- BY MIKE ALBO

On a hot day in mid-January, Tiqui Atencio Demirdjian steers her electric mule around the winding roads of Mustique, wearing a Missoni pantsuit and gold earrings shaped like Möbius strips. The island was coming out of convalescence-a nasty flu had blown through-and nearly every person she ran in was just getting over it.

"It makes sense, since we were all dancing together on New Year's Eve," Tiqui says, politely suppressing a cough. The philanthropist and art collector knows everyone here, from Roger Pritchard, managing director of the Mustique Company, to the clerk at Sweetie Pie bakery. "There's always a huge party with themes. We've done Barbie, hippie... This one was Mad Hatters." Tiqui dressed as the Queen of Hearts.

Like the Galápagos with its exotic iguanas, Mustique is, still, a rare refuge where the rich, the royal, and the rock star roam (along with cooks, housekeepers, and the 365-person staff of the Mustique Company who keep it running). Basil's Bar still hosts the Jump Up every Wednesday; you might be dancing with Bad Bunny and not notice it. Mick is still here, as is Bryan Adams. The Cotton House is still where you go on Tuesdays to see whom to invite to your cocktail party later in the week, while the beach bar is the chillout lounge where Georgia May Jagger and boyfriend Cambryan Sedlick recently plopped their new baby on a lounge chair for friends to coo over.

White-hot couples like Tomdaya swing by on a yacht. Kate and Lila Grace Moss come to stay at Tommy Hilfiger's villa for some mom-daughter beach time. Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos recently purchased Hibiscus Villa, which overlooks sexy, secluded Macaroni Beach.