Up Close & Personal: Victor | The Class Journal

By GC Editor

Victor @theclassjournal, a banker based in Geneva, Switzerland, protagonist among Switzerland's sartorial scene and a man with an expert knowledge of style: you better than anyone else can describe the characteristics of a modern Gentleman. How do you describe your style? 

I follow a classy style with a spritz of youthfulness. I do not try to go too much with fashion, but rather focus on wearing timeless, yet modern, outfits. At the office I dress very conservative. The suit is the banker's uniform and the office is not a run way. It's not the place to wear a whole range of accessories, colourful shirts and wild-patterned suits. Outside the office I do enjoy dressing more fashionable, and you will usually catch me with sockless loafers, pleated Gurkha-pants and a widely opened tailored shirt. 

What is elegance? What are the characteristics of appearance and character that hallmark a man of elegance? 

Elegance is a very fine line and is usually defined as dressing right for the occasion. You don't want to show up to a BBQ in a black tie and you don't want to show up to the opera in shorts. Elegance lies in the eye of  the beholder and should only be noticeable in a very subtle manner. Elegance is a gentle voice that is only audible to those who open their hearing to it. Elegance isn't loud, elegance isn't flashy. 

One of the qualities of a Gentleman is the ability to charm a woman and make her feel important. What is the secret of winning a woman? 

A gentleman should be a able to charm all kinds of people, not exclusively women. The key here is to listen. People usually find themselves fairly important and thus love talking about themselves. Listen actively. Remember the details. Bring them up at other occasions. This is what all of us appreciate in others. 

What is your idea of luxury? 

Luxury is anything that surpasses our definition of normal or average. The definition of luxury adapts to the standards we have in our lives. For someone who takes the train to work, a car would be luxury. While for someone who takes a car to work, a sports car might be luxury. I perceive time as luxury. It is the only good that we can't recover and thus we should spend every minute with what we truly enjoy and with who. 

What do you like about Switzerland that is not found anywhere else in Europe? 

There are many things that I like about Switzerland, but what the Swiss truly have mastered is efficiency. Everything here works as smooth and reliable as their renowned watch movements. This is what ultimately makes the country so successful economically and such an enjoyable place to live at. Plus the landscape is just breathtaking. 

The Gentleman described by GC is the renaissance man, a traveller, a citizen of the world: is there a journey that more than others enriched you or changed you in some way? 

One journey that has truly enriched my life was my travel to Lebanon in 2017. Having some of my best friends coming from there, I was invited (and happily accepted) to visit them. While I expected a country torn-down by its military conflicts of the past 40 years, I was very positively surprised by the country's beauty, the open-heartedness of its people and its incredible nightlife. There I have truly learned about the power of prejudices. Inspired by this trip I have since then traveled to many other locations I wouldn't consider typical holiday locations (think Serbia, Lithuania or Russia), and was time and again pleasantly surprised. 

At GC we are convinced that there are some definite codes that a Gentleman follows by nature. What is the first rule for a gentleman, according to you? 

Live and let live. As simple as that.

Thank you Victor for your time!

You are welcome.

Follow Victor's Instagram: theclassjournal 

All photos are from @theclassjournal on Instagram