Wallpaper* News Feed: The latest

Windmill turns community space in London’s Brixton

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 13:53:16 GMT

The Brixton Windmill rises unexpectedly in the midst of a residential park on the edge of the neighbourhood known for Electric Avenue (London’s first electrically lit market), the best Caribbean food, and the David Bowie memorial. A protected landmark as well as a still-functioning mill (albeit on a small scale), the windmill was built in 1816.

Originally known as Ashby’s Mill, after the family who owned it, it would cease industrial scale production in 1934. From the 1960s, when the public park in which it sits was founded, it started to gain its cultural reputation, al the while caught up in the increasingly urbanised sprawl of the city.

Passing city dwellers might dismiss the windmill as a creaking monument to history, yet the locals will inform you otherwise. The Brixton Windmill is an active protagonist in the community, at the heart of educational classes, community events such as the annual Beer and Bread Festival and as a functional mill supplying batches of flour to bakeries, restaurants and retailers of Brixton. This activity has been in development since 2011, when the Friends of Windmill Gardens (FoWG) united with Lambeth Council to secure Heritage Lottery funding and enable the public use of the building.

Developing a sustainable business model was important to FoWG and a new multi-functional building was to be the catalyst for the future thriving of the Windmill and all of its activities – and more. The plan was that the building with its cafe and space to hire would generate money for the preservation of the windmill, its architecture and the legacy of its impact in the community.

Part of the architects’ challenge was to design all of these functions into the building in a versatile, flexible and durable way. Locally-based architecture practice Squire’s thought about the segregation of space, the flexibility for multiple types of activities, and storage and the importance of well-designed facilities such as a kitchen. The design needed to suit a broad range of people, from young to old, newcomers and locals.

Squire and Partners was introduced to the Windmill by local print designers Eley Kishimoto, who designed a colourful sailcloth for the Windmill in 2016. Squire & Partners moved into their Brixton office, a creative renovation of an old department store that also brought new retail space to the street level, in 2019, and have been participating in the community ever since.

The building features a main activity space, supported by a useful group of rooms including a a grain store, kitchen, administration room, cycle parking and WCs. Specially designed units made of plywood multi-task as tables, storage, and seating, and also offer the possibility of being retail display units for additional income generation.

The materials and design responds to the original miller’s outbuildings. A pitched roof and Douglas Fir frame is clad with dark weatherboard. Inside, the timber frame is exposed, the walls lined with ply-wood and skylights bring in plenty of natural light. Glazed doors with shutters fold out onto the decked terrace that overlooks Windmill Gardens and the Windmill. §

Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons rove the digital realm for S/S 2021

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 11:41:37 GMT

Back in February, journalists in Milan, agog at the news that Raf Simons was joining Miuccia Prada as co-creative director of the historic house, speculated over espressos as to what the duo’s debut show would bring. But no one imagined that their first S/S 2021 show would not be physical – but live streamed worldwide without an in-person audience – to journalists, buyers and Prada fans alike.

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to deepen our relationship with the digital world, and Simons and Prada touched on the importance of today’s online universe, stating ‘technology is a part of humanity itself’, in S/S 2021’s show notes. As anticipatory fans live streamed the show from their iPhones, laptops and tablets, models strode within an all yellow curtain lined space lined with plush carpet – designed by regular show set collaborators OMA/AMO. The ceiling hung with monitors – today’s utilitarian take on the decorative chandelier. Usually, post Prada shows, journalists scramble backstage to listen to Miuccia Prada’s take on her designs. For spring, this audience was opened up, with Prada and Simons staging a Q+A post show, answering questions submitted worldwide from online guests from Kiev to Nara.

In S/S 2021’s show notes, Prada and Simons described the collection as ‘a creative conversation in progress.’ Exploring the concept of uniforms (an attitude to dressing that has resonated with designers for spring), it featured facets of the duo’s design heritage. Simons’ streamlined silhouettes, and focus on streetwear shapes and typography, and Prada’s subversively feminine shapes and exploration of colour. Fifties pleated skirts were paired with hoodies, emblazoned with slogans designed by Simons’ regular collaborator Peter de Potter. Icky archive prints from A/W 1996 and S/S 996 were used as canvases to print onto and the Prada logo was reimagined in a soft padded triangle, the only embellishment on pared-back nylon vests and trousers.

Prada and Simons spoke of ‘garments are drawn around the body, held by the hand’ and in a well-known Miuccia-ism, models clutched moire opera coats and technical mackintoshes around their chests. Hybrid design was also a focus, with shawl coats featuring in-built bags and mini skirts, with soft pouches. The designs spoke of a duality between utilitarian and elegance – paradoxes integral to Prada’s design DNA.

As part of Prada and Simon’s Q+A, Celia Thomson asked: ‘Is anything authentically “new” anymore or is everything regenerated’? In response, Simons mused: ‘The new just for the sake of doing new, doesn’t sound like the most important word.’ S/S 2021 saw a rejection of the superfluous, an evolution of heritage and a collaborative approach to design. They’re tenets that will always trump novelty. §

Deirdre Dyson’s new Paris space merges culture, history and creativity

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 10:00:00 GMT

Deirdre Dyson opens the doors to her new Paris gallery. Located in Saint-Germain des Prés, the space was realised in collaboration with French interior designer Remi Tessier to become a showcase for Dyson’s rugs collections, merging creative output with a sophisticated take on craftsmanship.

The gallery location was carefully selected by Dyson, who chose Saint-Germain des Prés for its reputation as the area where artists and intellectuals (such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir) gravitated in the sixties. The area later became the centre of student protests, and is now where gallery owners and antique dealers are right at home. For Dyson, this crucible of history and creativity is the very image of Parisian art.

‘As the birthplace of creativity, I love Paris, with its history and its vibrancy,’ says London-based Dyson, who has been developing her collections since the early 2000s. As it often happens, a personal search for the perfect rug turned into a lucky encounter and a prolific business brought to life by Dyson’s colour sensibility and affinity for craftsmanship.

The new gallery becomes a discreet backdrop to Dyson’s unique bespoke pieces, where colour and shapes come together through refined designs. Tibetan wool and Chinese silk of the highest quality are selected by Dyson before being hand-woven in Nepal (all of Dyson’s rugs receive a certification from international ethical organisation, Goodweave).

A view of Dyson’s showroom featuring a projection of her Chequered rug on the stone floor

The gallery’s interiors merge simplicity and elegance, designed as ‘an oasis of calm’ with sober stone floors and walls featuring prominently throughout the space. The opening of the new Parisian space also marks the debut of the Looking Glass collection, with designs playing with transparency, illusion, light and monochromatic gradients. The abstract designs are bright and multilayered, paintings transformed into knotted pieces through Dyson’s vision and the skilled craftsmanship of her Nepalese teams.

‘As the birthplace of creativity, I love Paris, with its history and its vibrancy’

Dyson originally trained as a fine artist and graphic designer, and her background is perfectly reflected in the unique designs of her pieces. Blending art and manufacturing, traditional craftsmanship techniques and new technologies, through her brand she has been able to give form to a pure artistic expression. §

Paola Antonelli and Alice Rawsthorn on design as a powerful tool of change

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 09:02:45 GMT

Alissa Eckert, a medical illustrator at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, helped create the visual shorthand for Covid-19, an instantly recognisable and easily reproduced spiky blob. With a need for clear and direct public information, it has become a critical messaging tool during the pandemic. Creatives Tegen Corona is a collective of Antwerp designers that worked with local manufacturers, fashion workshops and community sewing clubs to create 100,000 pieces of PPE. It posted patterns and specifications on the internet, where they could be downloaded free. Roya Mahboob is an Afghan tech entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of the non-profit Digital Citizen Fund (DCF), dedicated to increasing the tech savvy and skills of Afghan women and girls. One of DCF’s projects saw five teenage girl roboticists in Herāt design and produce emergency ventilators. Marco Ranieri, head of anaesthesiology and intensive care at one of the largest hospitals in Bologna, ‘hacked’ ventilator design so that one unit could ventilate two people at the same time, a vital innovation in critical over-stretched ICUs.

These are just some of the disparate collection of ‘design practitioners’ interviewed by the design writer Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli, senior curator at the department of architecture and design, and director of research and development at MoMA, for Design Emergency, their Covid response and recovery-focused Instagram Live series. It has become a repository for stories of urgent and improvised problem-solving and now an ideas bank, a place to talk about how designers and design’s rigorous research and dedication to elegant efficacy will be central to any post-Covid reboot or renewal.

Rawsthorn, author of Design as an Attitude and Hello World: Where Design Meets Life, and former design columnist for the International Herald Tribune and The New York Times, has developed a sizeable Instagram following over the last five years, with a more considered, thematic approach and bigger chunks of expository text than is usual for the platform. As the Covid crisis took hold, she dedicated much of her feed to a series she called Design in a Pandemic.

Alice Rawsthorn. Portrait: Brigitte Lacombe

‘Design is such a ubiquitous force, rooted in every aspect of our lives. As soon as the pandemic hit, my instinct was to investigate it through design,’ Rawsthorn says. ‘And as tragic as the pandemic has been, it also became an extraordinary platform for design, and made clear how resourceful, courageous, gutsy, public-spirited, and empathetic designers could be.’ Over regular Zoom catch-ups with Rawsthorn, Antonelli – a member of the crisis management team that helped MoMA navigate its way through the Covid catastrophe in New York – suggested that design’s response to the circumstances was worthy of an even deeper dive.

‘Design is about life,’ says Antonelli, who has explored this entanglement in several exhibitions and projects over the years – the 2015 book and online project Design and Violence and the XXII Triennale di Milano ‘Broken Nature’ of 2019 (W*239) among them. ‘And there’s no moment when there’s no emergency, violence, or health crisis. Alice and I both have platforms and authority; people listen to us. So, we said, let’s do something to highlight the importance, versatility and pragmatic imagination of design.’ The Design Emergency double act was born.

It is clear that the series sets out not just to celebrate design but also to redefine it, or at least confirm its new sense of purpose, mission and wider usefulness. In many ways, Design Emergency advances arguments Rawsthorn made in Design as an Attitude, published (what now feels) way, way back in 2018.

‘Design in all of its different manifestations is an incredibly vital and important discipline that comes to fruition in many different situations. But it’s especially useful in situations of emergency.’

The book, spookily prescient and with László Moholy-Nagy and Richard Buckminster Fuller cast as guiding lights, is a kind of rallying cry. ‘The idea of design and the profession of the designer has to be transformed from the notion of a specialist function into a generally valid attitude of resourcefulness and inventiveness which allows projects to be seen not in isolation but in relationship with the need of the individual and the community,’ wrote Moholy-Nagy in 1945, shortly before he died. ‘Ultimately all problems of design merge into one great problem: ‘design for life’.”

It is an argument that Rawsthorn picks up and runs with in Design as an Attitude, insisting that ‘design has always had one elemental role as an agent of change that interprets shifts of any type – social, political, economic, scientific, technological, cultural, ecological – to ensure that they will affect us positively, rather than negatively.’ For Rawsthorn, design is a matter of shaping things and outcomes but in larger ways than we might have imagined; it is a way of seeing and engaging with the world, and of tackling problems as wide-ranging as climate change, dysfunctional social care systems, social injustice and, it turns out, global public health emergencies. Design Emergency continues in that spirit and makes clear that this kind of high-ambition, attitudinal design and design culture is not just for trained designers. As Antonelli says, ‘many of the people that we celebrated in Design Emergency were not trained as designers. Some were illustrators, one was an anaesthesiologist, others were different types of specialists. But all have embraced the design label we offered them. And this is when you see design becoming an attitude: when you set your mind towards a goal and you use the tools at your disposal, in the most economical, effective, safe and elegant way possible.

Paola Antonelli. Portrait: Brigitte Lacombe

‘Design in all of its different manifestations is an incredibly vital and important discipline that comes to fruition in many different situations,’ she adds. ‘But it’s especially useful in situations of emergency. We generally think of design as a combination of skills that centre around form-giving. But they are also technical, social, political, scientific, and it’s sometimes the ability to speak in so many different languages so as to be able to bring people together.’

The Covid crisis has of course been seen as a wake-up call, an economic and public health catastrophe that asks urgent questions about priorities and practices at every level. National governments have floundered and failed, value systems and political programmes been revealed as venal and cruel, health and social care systems exposed as underfunded and poorly aligned with actual need. There is demand for reset or at least recalibration. And the Covid emergency is now part of a cluster bomb of environmental and social justice emergencies. In spotlighting design success stories during the Covid crisis, Rawsthorn and Antonelli’s mission is also to insist that much of what we now know we depend on – systems, institutions, public provisions, policy programmes, the misfiring mechanics of modern societies – are badly designed. The more recent batch of Design Emergency conversations looks at the potential of a post-Covid recovery and reconstitution. And how we might design our way out of these crises. ‘We both feel very strongly that this could and should be a landmark event,’ says Rawsthorn, ‘which means that there will be a fundamental redesign and reconstruction of our lives, post-pandemic. We feel that the extraordinary achievements of design during the pandemic would stand it in very good stead to be taken seriously as a powerful tool to help to address the social, political, economic and ecological problems that face us all.’ (Rawsthorn has an uncanny ability to talk in long, perfectly formed sentences.)

Interviewees, ‘leaders of the reconstruction’ as Rawsthorn calls them, include British social designer Hilary Cottam, Italian designers Formafantasma, and doctors Sara Saeed Khurram and Iffat Zafar Aga, who are developing Sehat Kahani, a telemedicine network in Pakistan, capitalising on the country’s vast reserves of ‘doctor brides’, qualified but not practising and desperate to contribute.

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A post shared by Design Emergency (@design.emergency) on Sep 18, 2020 at 4:04am PDT

And while Antonelli and Rawsthorn insist that design has always stepped up in times of rapid change and rupture, Rawsthorn acknowledges that a number of shifts, some accelerated by the Covid crisis, have increased design’s potential and potency. These include the kind of digital technology that makes Sehat Kahani possible, as well as what she calls the ‘making revolution’. ‘We had a network of makers, fixers and “fixperts” who were ready to leap into action with PPE production, ventilator development and more,’ says Rawsthorn. Design education has also taken on board this more expansive, ambitious idea of what design is for. ‘There are humanitarian architecture courses, social design courses, there’s every possible manifestation of design in a much looser, more eclectic, elastic and improvisational sense, design playing an active role in our lives in a way that during the Industrial Age, it simply wasn’t empowered to.’ Rawsthorn also sees the explosion of community networks around the world as ‘among the greatest design feats of this crisis’. And notes that many of the design-led responses that Design Emergency celebrates are local responses to local problems, rather than well-meaning but Western interventions. ‘You’re talking about a bundle of factors that have come together and I think that’s a very important one. We’re drawing on a much wider talent pool which can only ever be beneficial.’

There is, of course, much, everything, left to play for. There are circular conversations about new normals and green recoveries, rebalancings and pivot points. And every day our multiple emergencies grow more dire and urgent. Rawsthorn and Antonelli are at least offering examples of ground-up, local, well-designed responses that could be adapted and adopted, of elegant ideas that have worked. ‘This is a period of extraordinary and, in many respects, agonisingly painful change for many people,’ says Rawsthorn. ‘And with further devastation and disruptions to come, particularly in economic terms. And design is not a panacea to any of these issues, but by working in an intelligent, thoughtful and responsible way, with relevant specialists from other fields, designers could make a major impact in trying to rebuild our lives for the better.’

‘It’s a moment we believe will change forever the way we think and work, not only as designers but as citizens,’ adds Antonelli. ‘At least we hope.’ §

At Blenheim Palace, Cecily Brown confronts the gore and glory of English heritage

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 14:45:48 GMT

Behind the gilded gates and opulent facade of Blenheim Palace, there’s a conversation happening between the work of Cecily Brown and the contents of the palace. The subject is British heritage, and what that means today.

In 2014, Blenheim secured its presence on the international contemporary art map with shows by Ai Weiwei, Lawrence Weiner, Jenny Holzer, and more recently – and infamously – Maurizio Cattelan, whose still-unrecovered 18-carat gold loo was pinched from the palace last year in a heist that flushed through the art world and beyond.

In another show of firsts: Blenheim has invited a British artist to exhibit. It’s also the first exhibition of entirely new work created in response to the Palace, and the first of contemporary painting.

Cecily Brown, Hunt with Nature Morte and Blenheim Spaniel, 2019 Installation view of ‘Cecily Brown at Blenheim Palace’, Blenheim Palace, 2020. Photography: Tom Lindboe. Courtesy of Blenheim Art Foundation.

It also marks a new turn for Cecily Brown, whose work is known for sensual, fluid and abstracted depictions of the body. The fluidity remains, but here she responds directly to the Spencer-Churchill family’s collection of art, artefacts, tapestries, and the heritage of her native country. The results are nostalgic, sentimental and critical of England’s hyper-romanticised history, but unlike Cattelan’s work, Brown’s feel part of Blenheim’s fabric.

Brown came to the task from a unique standpoint, having lived, as she says, ‘in exile’ in New York for 26 years. ‘I have been trying to understand what England means to me’ she notes. The show comprises 24 paintings, two monotypes, five drawings and Brown’s first textile work, a handwoven wool rug.

There are few appropriate superlatives to describe Blenheim’s Great Hall, the palace’s pièce de résistance, fortified with heraldry and stately pride. On the walls above, between Corinthian capitals and beneath James Thornhill’s commanding ceiling fresco, hang Brown’s Armorial Memorial paintings. Within these, the artist extracts emblems of empires, coats of arms and symbols of the Church and blasts them apart in chaotic fragmentation.

Cecily Brown Armorial Memorial, 2019. Oil on linen. Photography: Genevieve Hanson. Courtesy of the artist and Blenheim Art Foundation

Back on ground level, we’re met with a vitrine, not filled with priceless Sévres porcelain or military memorabilia, but with Brown’s source material – the genesis of her exhibition and a taste of what’s ahead. Within these scattered sheets of paper are printed-out images of Baroque paintings of animals slaughtering each other, whimsical Victorian illustrations, unidentified cartoons splashed in blood-red paint, coats of arms and women in fur coats and references to the Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’. These are clippings of Britain, past, present, and future.

Along the exhibition path, through corridors featuring Brown’s psychedelic and cartoon-esque Armorial Memento paintings, is the more intimate (by Blenheim standards) Green Drawing Room. The walls are congested with ducal portraits with barely an inch to spare. Here, Brown disrupts the endless depictions of ‘the hunt’ as the monarchy’s exalted sport of choice with her painting, The Calls of the Hunting Horn. ‘I chose traditional subjects like the hunt, the kind of genre painting associated with old country houses because I want visitors to do a double-take, to think that my work belongs there’, she explains. In this room, another feature certainly worth a double-take is a table lined with equine-themed family photographs. Brown inserts herself again, in a more personal mode, with a framed childhood photograph of her sitting on a stationary horse.

Cecily Brown, The Calls of the Hunting Horn, 2019. Installation view of ‘Cecily Brown at Blenheim Palace’, Blenheim Palace, 2020. Photography: Tom Lindboe. Courtesy of Blenheim Art Foundation

On her visits to Blenheim, Brown was initially struck by the martial narratives built into the palace’s architecture and decoration. These included those relating to World War Two, told from the perspective of Wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, who was born at the palace. This led the artist to question British-centric bias in taught history, and respond with a battle cry of her own. ‘We were taught a very selective history of England that is all glory’, she explains. ‘So I wanted to make my own battle paintings’.

Bleinham’s opulent State Rooms are adorned in the imposing Marlborough tapestries, commissioned by the Duke as allegories of his successes at the 1704 Battle of Blenheim. These see cavalrymen in the foreground, calm, dignified and seemingly indifferent while the pastoral scene behind erupts with bombs and despair. Brown responds in paint, as if the brush were a butcher’s knife, and the results are ferocious: bloody lashes of red and frenzied combat – chapters of a story the tapestries omit.

Cecily Brown Dog Is Life, 2019. Installation view of ‘Cecily Brown at Blenheim Palace’, Blenheim Palace, 2020. Photography: Tom Lindboe. Courtesy of Blenheim Art Foundation

The grand finale is staged in the Long Library. ‘Long’ is an understatement, but Brown’s painting, The Triumph of Death is everything but. It’s her largest to date, measuring more than five sq metres and comprising four panels. It’s a meld of motifs from the exhibition: horror and indifference; gore and glory. The skull-headed central figure rides an anaemic-looking horse with sinister purpose while gentlemen and fox-fur clad ladies sip champagne and stroke dogs, oblivious to the ensuing apocalypse. In the bottom right-hand corner, the famous ‘Blenheim Spaniel’ – a recurring character in Brown’s paintings for the palace – makes an appearance to lighten the mood.

Brown’s paintings are a sentimental and nostalgic celebration of England. They also perform an unmerciful autopsy of its past, urging us to review a tunnel-visioned history with fresh eyes. In a palace that has everything to do with splendour, pride and a bygone Englishness, Brown encourages a timely double-take. §

Cecily Brown, The Triumph of Death, 2019 Installation view of ‘Cecily Brown at Blenheim Palace’, Blenheim Palace, 2020. Photography: Tom Lindboe. Courtesy of Blenheim Art Foundation

Charlotte Chesnais launches a jewellery collection with Matches Fashion

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 13:28:21 GMT

After working nearly exclusively with metal for the last five years, Charlotte Chesnais has included pearls in her nine-piece capsule collection for Matches Fashion. It marks a turning point in the Parisian designer’s typically sculptural aesthetic. ‘Now feels like the right time to add something new to my work,’ says Chesnais. ‘I have been curious about pearls for a while but needed to find the right balance to integrate it into my existing collections. The shape and colours of the pearls add texture which I find really interesting.’

The uneven shapes of the natural pearls are an organic complement to the graceful twists of gold vermeil and silver which are Chesnais’ trademark. Nestled in the curve of an earring or punctuating the smooth loop of a ring, they add a warmth to simple silhouettes. ‘My starting point was the pearl: how to make it coexist with my work without denaturing it. The simplest things are often the most beautiful, but the challenge here was making sure that the signatures of my main line were still identifiable in this capsule collection. This is the same process as when I work around a specific diamond or stone for a special project,’ she adds.

A limited series of abstract sculptures, pictured above, will be released alongside the jewellery, an extension of Chesnais’ first exhibition at last year’s Hyères International Festival Fashion and Photography. Hand forged in bronze, the pieces celebrate volume on a large scale, echoing the preoccupation with clean lines and empty space we see encapsulated in her jewels.

The pieces will be launching exclusively at Matches Fashion in a timely collaboration for the online retailer who saw a significant uptick in jewellery sales over lockdown. ‘I think customers feel more confident in making considered purchases which feel like a timeless investment,’ says Matches Fashion jewellery buyer Tanika Wisdom. Charlotte Chesnais’ sculptural pieces are a natural addition: ‘She creates wearable pieces of art. They are unique, easy to wear and make a real statement.’ §

David Chipperfield designs Furla’s new flagship in Milan’s historic Piazza Duomo

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 12:20:32 GMT

In February, Italian accessories label Furla unveiled its redesigned sans serif logo, its sleek typography inspired by arches found inside the palazzo of the brand’s Furla Foundation in Bologna. The city too is renowned for its signature porches. It’s this architectural element which has inspired the construction of the brand’s newly renovated flagship in Milan’s historic Piazza Duomo, designed by David Chipperfield Architects.

‘We were inspired by the history of Milan, the heritage of the great Italian designers pervades the city even now,’ Chipperfield explains of the design of the double floor space, which has been enlarged to 263 sq m. ‘Gio Ponti, Vico Magistretti, Achile Castiglione, Gae Aulenti and many others.’ Arches are a focal element, noted not only in the boutique’s architecture, but also in the curving shapes of fixtures and furnishings, formed from anodized aluminium. The store’s walls have a tactile finish, coated in rough plaster formed from different clays, which contrast with original enclaves and niches, which have been left intact.

Tactility is integral to the space, which also features smooth flooring formed from pastellone plaster, tables in lacquered wood and sugary coloured marble and circular hemp carpets.

Chipperfield – who has designed retail spaces for Bally, Valentino and SSENSE – remains positive regarding the endurance of bricks-and-mortar retail. ‘Although our shopping habits are changing and our lives have become more influenced by the virtual, we still value the physical experience and the quotidian rituals of urban life. In designing the Furla store we continue our commitment to the importance of the physical qualities of the retail experience and the importance of presentation of beautiful objects,’ he says. The space also features an additional physical space, for pop-ups and events.

In light Covid-19 restrictions, Furla fans keen to get a glimpse of its new space, will have the chance to do so digitally, with an online 3D virtual tour. §

Improve your shut-eye through ‘aromachology’, says Anatomé

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 10:43:36 GMT

Wellness brand Anatomé is inviting you to open your eyes to the power of shut-eye with a new exhibit on sleep at their Chiltern Street store.

Best known for its therapeutic oils and dietary supplements, Anatomé was established by Murdoch barbers founder Brendan Murdock with the belief that nutritional and emotional wellbeing is the foundation of a balanced life.

Opening this week, Anatomé’s sleep exhibit explores how sleep health can be improved by ‘aromachology’, or the study of odours influence on human emotions and behaviors. The showcase utilises the brand’s own aromatherapy blends as the organisational principle of the show, examining how the chemical compounds of different scents can affect the brain and, consequently, offer different remedies for sleep problems.

The aromas on display include lavender, which kickstarts sleep with its high concentration of neurotransmitter-restricting compounds for a sedative-like effect. Seaweed, which contains micronutrients proven to decrease sleep latency, or the time it takes you to fall asleep after going to bed. And chamomile, which contains phytochemicals that bind to brain receptors linked to GABA, a neurotransmitter that helps the brain achieve full sleep cycles.

Grounded in scientific fact that is as easily digestible as one of Anatomé’s supplements, the sleep exhibit is ideal for anyone interested in the effects of aromatherapy and nutrition of mental wellbeing.

To learn about the connection between scent and sleep, visit the Anatomé exhibit on until the end of this month at the brand’s new Chiltern Street location. §

Optimism and pragmatism align at London Fashion Week S/S 2021

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 08:54:31 GMT

Back in February, the blustery winds of Storm Denis were the main, outfit-ousting concern for attendees of London Fashion Week. As street style stars, paparazzi and journalists bundled from landmark locations in Bloomsbury and Bank, cooing at the A/W 2020 collections, the thread of Covid-19 had barely entered their brains. Now, the A/W 2020 shows – their twinkling venues packed with guests, international press and glamorous stars – seem part of a parallel universe.

In the seven months that have passed, the luxury landscape has changed beyond recognition. In July the British Fashion Council – based on statistics from Oxford Economics – warned the UK government up to 350,000 jobs could be lost in the wake of Covid-19, and that sales this year could fall from £118bn to £88bn. British brands have announced closures – Henry Holland went into administration in April, and Pringle of Scotland has been paused indefinitely.

But this tumultuous period has also been one of creative hope and innovation. In April, designers Holly Fulton, Phoebe English and Bethany Williams launched the Emergency Designer Network, a volunteer led enterprise created to support the NHS with PPE. Designers including Simone Rocha, Emilia Wickstead and Roland Mouret joined the initiative, and in July, 100,000 surgical sets had been distributed to 28 individual hospitals. Hosts of other British brands also supported the Covid-19 crisis, with Burberry fast-tracking the delivery of over 100,000 surgical masks to the NHS and mobilising its trench coat factory in Castleford, Yorkshire, to create non-surgical gowns and masks for hospital patients. The BFC also established an emergency Fashion Fund, an initiative granting financial support to 37 British brands, including Roksanda, Richard Quinn and Rejina Pyo, totalling over £1,000,000.

Burberry S/S 2021

Amongst the uncertainty came the question of how to stage fashion week. In July, men’s and couture fashion week moved online, and as part of this from-home era, the BFC announced London Fashion Week was to move to an innovative gender-neutral digital platform. In the midst of new Covid-19 restrictions in England, limiting gatherings and social events, S/S 2021 launched with 50 digital-only activations, 21 physical and digital, and a sprinkling of small, socially-distanced physical-only events. These activations included pre-recorded films, staged in locations like Epping Forest and a 19th century church in Yorkshire, intimate salon shows and collection appointments at venues including Hauser & Wirth and the Victoria Miro museum.

No stranger to spectacle, even in the era of social distancing, Burberry kicked off the proceedings with an otherworldly live show, streamed for the first time on Twitch, the live streaming service beloved of gamers worldwide. Chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci teamed up with German visual artist Anne Imhof, famous for ‘Faust’, her eerie 2017 performance piece inside the Venice Biennale’s German Pavillion, which featured patrolling snarling Dobermans. For Burberry, Imhof devised an industrial circular stage setting in the midst of the British countryside, a symbol to Tisci of renewal. Models walked – accosted by The Matrix-centric minders, clad in suits and sunglasses – and they sported vibrant tailoring, logo-splashed sportswear, sparkling party dresses and deconstructed trench coats. Tisci spoke of devising a modern fairy tale, centred on a love story blooming between a mermaid and a shark. So models sported sou’westers, fisherman’s coats and shirts with scribbled shark prints. The nautical theme nodded to the oceanic history of the house. It’s famed for inventing waterproof gabardine, worn by the Navy and Arctic explorers in the early 20th century.

Bethany Williams S/S 2021. Photography: Ruth Ossai

Unsurprisingly S/S 2021 had a strong socio-political pull. Michael Halpern – who spent spring making PPE at Royal Brompton Hospital – celebrated the heroines of the front line in a heart-warming film, dressing night tube drivers, nurses, bus station managers and gynecologists in his extravagant ballroom-worthy designs, like plumed puff ball dresses, tartan boucle gowns and polka dot pyjamas.

Socially-minded Bethany Williams has been collaborating with The Magic Project since 2019. The Newham-based charity works with children and mothers who are homeless or at risk of homelessness – 80 per cent of who have no access to public funds (NRPF). An estimated 100,000 children in the UK live in poverty because their parents immigration status denies them access to the UK’s welfare system. For S/S 2021’s ‘All Our Children’, Williams included the families which are part of The Magic Project, in a film celebrating the force of familial ties, with mothers and children sporting colourful hand-painted pieces created in collaboration with illustrator and artist Melissa Kitty. Williams worked with deadstock, organic and recycled materials, and the collection also features patchwork sportswear spliced from Adidas Originals swatches, corsets created in collaboration with Welsh designer Rosie Evans and lunch boxes and reading wallets woven out of book waste, developed with Tottenham-based Stevan Saville.

Molly Goddard S/S 2021

Out of crisis often comes optimism, and for Molly Goddard positivity came in collection pouring over with prismatic colours. ‘When we first came out of lockdown and decided to do a show, I wanted to do something really pared back,’ she explained. ‘But as we returned slowly to the studio after months of working as a team over Zoom, I realised how dark and depressing the last few months had been and more and more colour crept into the collection.’ For S/S 2021, Goddard proposed ruffled gingham skirts, frilled tulle crop tops, poufing parkas, and punky striped vests in tones of sea foam, scarlet and fuchsia. These colours nodded to papier-mâché Claes Oldenburg sculptures, found in the art collection of Guiseppe and Giovanna Panza. Goddard also unveiled a collaboration with Ugg, on a series of stompy flatform slippers and fluffy flats.

Emerging British-Asian designer Supriya Lele also saw optimism in embellishment. When she returned to her South London studio post-lockdown, she noted that each day her all-female team were adding glamour to their once dressed-down outfits. For the first time she added sequin to her fabric roster of light jersey and chiffon, creating gauzy wraparound pieces like mini dresses, camisoles and sarong skirts in vibrant tones, which nodded to the hues of her Indian heritage. ‘I thought I’d inject a bit of sparkle into what I’m doing. I’m feeling a bit more optimistic in a way,’ she explained. The collection also nodded to Lele’s adolescence spent listening to heavy metal, featuring sequin skirts spray-painted punkishly with an Indian motif and sheer creased crop tops resembling faded band tees. Her azure blue, turquoise and magenta colour palette was inflected with moodier dark chocolate and slime green.

Christopher Kane S/S 2021

For brands, so long bolstered to traditional modes of presentation, S/S 2021 also offered up a chance to experiment. Christopher Kane spent lockdown creating acrylic glitter glue images of women – humorously labelled his "brats" – and he presented his colourful spring offering in his Mount Street store alongside these escapist artworks. ‘Painting during lock down replaced the void of making collections,’ he explained. ‘It became a way to escape my own mind - no rules, deadlines, or pressures.’ Victoria Beckham too took time to reassess. ‘Limitations can be liberating,’ the designer explained in the introduction to her S/S 2021 film. Her streamlined collection featured easy fluid dresses with seductive cut outs, flared tailoring and denim. Beckham returned to the intimate salon-show format of her early presentations, showcasing her spring looks at the Victoria Miro museum.

Richard Malone S/S 2021

In a year, when lockdown may one be our sole collective recollection, designers were also fascinated by the concept of memory. At Preen, designers and partners Thea Bregazzi and Justin Thornton decamped to their home in Suffolk during lockdown. There they discovered the belongings of its former resident, an American art critic. These trinkets informed a collection which Preen worked on with their daughters - one inspired by fragments of memory, featuring floral patchwork dresses and panelled trench coats, created from deadstock fabrics, elements of the brand’s own history. Richard Malone was also fascinated by the concept of time, when considering how to design for ‘real life’ when it’s been altered irrevocably. During lockdown, he read I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid, and Doireann Ní Ghríofa’s A Ghost in the Throat, both works which deal with a contortion and curvature of time. His resulting collection offered up ‘rigorous comfort’ with voluminous draped dresses and high-shouldered tailoring, imagined in silk-like wool crêpe and velvet which Malone hand-washed in his own bath.

Roksanda S/S 2021

Having spent most of the year indoors (and possibly next year too), practical wardrobe solutions were also on the S/S 2021 agenda. For Roksanda Illincic who staged her presentation inside the Gasholders penthouse she designed last year – a space populated with soft tones and pieces by Charlotte Perriand and Lina Bo Bardi – recycled cashmere tracksuits bought a new ease to her aesthetic. Her set-up reflected the reality we’ve all faced since spring, featuring mis-en-scenes of lockdown life, like mothers and daughters lying in bed, and women washing up. Church’s also offered practical footwear solutions. The Northampton-based label, which usually presents its latest designs at Milan Fashion Week, debuted Dear Thomas, a film inspired by The Talented Mr Ripley, featuring modern twists on classic silhouettes, like sandals with tank-tread soles and a heeled version of its Dee Dee slide.

Margaret Howell S/S 2021. Photography: Mark Kean

For the last half decade, Margaret Howell has designed according to the tenets of timeless design. She spent lockdown at her home near the Suffolk coastline, gaining a renewed interest in sketching. The main design difference she noted was the inability to try on each piece in her S/S 2021 collection, which features oversized shapes like slouchy blazers, utilitarian pleated trousers and drop waist dresses in Swiss cottons and silks. Howell often revisits pieces in her archives – which look as contemporary today as they did when they were debuted – and blew up a polka dot print for spring. ‘My work has always been about trying to remain true to myself; it is a consistent style with subtle changes,’ she told Wallpaper* back in March. Howell’s approach epitomises the importance of clothing that can withstand unprecedented lifestyle changes, balancing utility and luxury and resonating with shoppers whatever the season. §

A Rimini contemporary art museum celebrates local history through culture

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 08:45:24 GMT

Rimini is about to bear the cultural fruit of a productive combination of public policy, a local sense of civic responsibility and a strong architectural vision. This mini-metropolis on Italy’s Riviera Romagnola, known as the country’s party capital and the home town of Federico Fellini, is opening the doors to a new contemporary art museum. PART, or Palazzi dell’Arte Rimini, is an adaptation and renovation project by Milan based architect Luca Cipelletti. It is housed in two medieval buildings in the city’s main square - the 13th Century Palazzo dell’Arengo and the 14th Century Palazzo del Podestà.

The project has a remarkable grassroots origin story. The hills surrounding Rimini have been home to some of Europe’s most legendary discos, but also to the San Patrignano Community – a dedicated, hard-working, drug rehabilitation centre operating since 1978 for men and women. This community later established itself as a foundation. Thanks to its efforts and to charitable donations of numerous works of contemporary art over the years, it has built up an eclectic and ambitious collection.

According to a new endowment model for Italy, artworks donated to a foundation that cannot be loaned for long periods, need instead to be made accessible to the public. This provided the City of Rimini with the opportunity to create itself a new art museum.

Photography: Alex Nasser

The restoration of the two historic buildings was only part of Cipelletti’s task. He also had to completely rethink the rooms as spaces for art, for example, ensuring there are extra surfaces for exhibition space and hanging. ‘My aim was to enhance the impressive medieval volumes, but avoid reconstructing new elements in the historical style,’ he says. ‘I wanted to bring out the precious original elements, such as the materials, the Palladian wooden trusses, the large polifora windows. The interventions of technical modernisation, the paint colours on the surfaces, the flooring and the fixtures all express a balance between a contemporary aesthetic language and its historic counterpart.’

The art museum, including the ticket office and café, occupies two levels. Spatial fexibility, which allows the architecture to transform into any interior needed for each show, was key. Cipelletti, inspired from Italian masters such as BBPR, Carlo Scarpa and Franco Albini, designed the space so that the galleries place the art at centre stage. Yet it also offers the visitor visual rhythm, as well as opportunities to pause and reflect.

New, freestanding walls create additional wallspace for displays, navigating the structures’ large windows. There are newly installed, near-invisible, bronze window frames; flooring and bespoke furniture in durmast oak; and plinths in stone from San Marino. The last is the same material that was used in medieval times but, seeing as it can no longer be quarried, it was recovered from an old warehouse and reused.

Attention to detail and material use, both original and contemporary, a sense of perspective and a ‘less is more’ attitude guided the architect’s hand through the development of all interiors. The project is completed by a lighting concept by designer Alberto Pasetti Bombardella and a site-specific piece by artist David Tremlett. §

The intricate craftsmanship behind Fendi’s Peekaboo bag

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 11:25:04 GMT

As life’s paced has decelerated, we’ve felt even more affinity with slow-paced creativity. Fendi is a maison long associated with impeccable artistic innovation in leather and fur – and for those keen for insight into the intricate design of its accessories, we’re lucky enough to showcase a film celebrating the savoir faire behind its signature Peekaboo bag.

The film celebrates a triptych of Fendi Peekaboo styles, which tap into S/S 2020’s penchant for punchy tones and logo-focused details. Different artisanal approaches are applied to the designs, from laser-cutting to hand knotting and weaving, to create alluring accessories which appear stacked with Fendi typography or formed from an undulating wave of textured leather. These finishes are celebrated on film in a host of cinematic still-life sweeps, which are overlaid against graphic shots of the maison’s Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana HQ.

So press pause on your daily pursuits, and delight in Fendi’s ode to craftsmanship. It’ll soothe and inspire even the most manic of mindsets. §

Our edit of interior design books championing shelf love

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 08:04:42 GMT

Whether you’re looking to completely rethink the energy of your home, or just seeking interior design inspiration, leaf through our edit of titles that span historic environments and contemporary experimentation, designer workspaces and gallery laboratories.

Design in Asia: The New Wave

Thames & Hudson, £40.00 published on 22 October

‘A dynamic array of approaches that’s shedding new light on the possibilities of furniture, product and interior design in an ever-shifting global landscape’ – this is how curator Aric Chen describes this tome of 97 furniture pieces in his forward – the pages spotlight talents mainly in their 20s-40s spanning from Korea, China and Japan to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and India. Realised by the editor-in-chief of publication Design Anthology, Suzy Annetta, this book of discovery divided into territories, with works from the likes of Bingqi Lee from Beijing to Nikita Bhate from Sār Studio in India.

Leafing through, we get personal accounts of how these individuals became designers, but Annetta says there is a more important message to be shared here about identity. ‘In these changing and in some cases postcolonial times, many of the countries we’ve featured are still challenged by what it means to be, for example, Indonesian or Korean. The endeavours of many young designers become an opportunity for them to explore these questions through their work and how they bring materials, traditional craft techniques, colours and forms into the 21st century’. Writer: Sujata Burman

The Little Book Of Colour: How to Use the Psychology of Colour to Transform Your Life

Penguin Books, £10.99. Courtesy, Philipp Shurev/Shutterstock

A feast for the eyes as well as the mind, Karen Haller explores the power that colour has in improving your happiness, wellbeing and confidence. Her knowledge in applied colour psychology aims to guide the reader in redefining their relationship with colour. The book highlights historical ways of seeing colour, notably featuring Issac Newton’s discovery of the rainbow of light. Vibrant inside and out, the book futher intensifies the importance of colour in everyday life. Writer: Tilly Nathan

The Iconic Interior: 1900 to the Present Day

Thames & Hudson, £24.95

Inspired by over 100 years of changing design, journalist and writer Dominic Bradbury and photographer Richard Powers have created a sophisticated tour of exceptional domestic spaces from the early 20th century to now. From Coco Chanel’s Parisian apartment to Henry Moore’s Hertfordshire estate, the tome travels different styles and movements to feed the imagination. Leaf through for remarkable craftsmanship, animated essays, unique compositions and vibrant photography. Writer: Tilly Nathan

Pierre Yovanovitch: Interior Architecture

Rizzoli New York, £35. Photography left, Matthieu Salvaing. Right: Jose Manuel Alorda

Our 2019 Wallpaper* Designer of the Year’s oevue is full of rigour, whimsy and humour, and now we can experience this in a new tome. Drenched in Yovanovitch’s bold style, including exclusive shots of his own property in Provence – ‘this book marks an important milestone in my career.’ Delve into a theatre of the Parisian master’s work, from a remodelled mansion in Ixelles Ponds in Brussels (right) to Fabrègues castle in Provence (left), right from your sofa. Writer: Sujata Burman

The Design Lab: Galerie Kreo

Flammarion, £65. © The Design Lab: Galerie kreo

For the past two decades, Galerie Kreo has been dedicated to producing limited-edition contemporary pieces by design visionaries such as Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Virgil Abloh, Hella Jongerius, Jasper Morrison, Marc Newson, and Konstantin Grcic. A showcase of its 120 exhibitions, this illustrated retrospective unravels with a narrative of its design history. Not only does the volume include an interview with the gallery’s founders, Clémence and Didier Krzentowsk, but it also includes tributes from the likes of philosopher Christian Schlatte and artist Bertrand Lavi. The Design Lab is sure to spark inspiration for experimentation in form and technique. Writer: Katie Meston

Liaigre Creation

Rizzoli New York, £60. Photography: Mark Seelen

This is a window into the extraordinary world created by Parisian designer Christian Liaigre, whose sophisticated aesthetic is chronicled through five key residential projects he created before his departure from the company in 2016. A Japanese house overlooking hot thermal springs; a modernist palazzo in New Delhi; a villa in St Moritz; a Parisian mansion and a Bavarian-style project in Munich (pictured) were all created in collaboration with the current creative director Frauke Meyer, who was tasked with taking the maison’s heritage into the future. Also featuring in the book is a ‘behind the scenes look into the company’s creative laboratory,’ which includes an essay by French art historian Françoise-Claire Prodhon alongside captivating photography – a small window into this incredibly rich visual universe. Writer: Rosa Bertoli §

A poignant exploration of the lives of transgender and gender non-confirming older people

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 12:34:06 GMT

The city of Minneapolis may have unwittingly been at the heart of the racial uprisings that swept across the United States this year, but a new exhibition of photographs at the Minneapolis Institute of Art proves that the city is also leading the charge on other aspects of social change.

The exhibition, ‘Vision 2020: Jess T. Dugan’, presents a series of large-scale portraits of transgender and gender-expansive older adults by the photographer Dugan, who has been working on a book specialising on the subject matter since 2013. The book, ‘To Survive on This Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Non-Confirming Older Adults’ features interviews with and portraits of 65 sitters in their homes or personal spaces across the country. A joint effort between Dugan and her spouse, Vanessa Fabbre, a social worker and assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis, the pioneering tome elegantly articulates the triumphs and struggles to be found in each subject’s journey and experience.

Duchess Milan, 69, Los Angeles, CA, 2017

‘We knew there was a lack of representation of transgender people in general – especially transgender older adults – and we wanted to fill that gap,’ Dugan shares. ‘We had heard from younger transgender people that they had never seen images of transgender older adults and they lacked a roadmap for what their life might look like as they aged. Simultaneously, we were aware that, in many cases, transgender older adults were directly responsible for the progress around gender and sexuality that we benefit from today. We wanted to record and preserve that history before it was too late.’

Dugan and Fabrre had one simple criterion when it came to looking for their subjects. ‘The only requirement for participation was that the participants self-identified as transgender or gender-expansive and were over the age of fifty,’ says Dugan. ‘Beyond that, we were committed to including a diverse array of people and intentionally sought out subjects whose lived experiences exist within the complex intersections of gender identity, age, race, ethnicity, sexuality, socioeconomic class, and geographic location.’

‘We knew there was a lack of representation of transgender people in general – especially transgender older adults – and we wanted to fill that gap’

Above: Sky, 64, and Mike, 55, Palm Springs, CA, 2017. Below: Helena, 63, Chicago, IL, 2013

The beautifully varied body of work, which showcases individuals in their homes, places of work or parks, accompanied by partners or cherished objects, dressed normally or to the nines, is a quiet, yet powerful celebration of the challenges the LGBTQ+ community has been overcoming for years. With a subject in her 90s also included, the book is a powerful testament to how long and complex the LGBTQ+ movement is.

At MIA, ‘Vision 2020’ comprises eight portraits – seven of which are promised gifts to the collection and the eighth, a portrait of Minneapolis council member and political activist, Andrea Jenkins, was donated by Dugan and the Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago. Curated by Casey Riley, the institute’s head of the Department of Photography and New Media, the exhibition will be on view until March 7, 2021.

‘Exhibiting this work in Minneapolis is especially meaningful to me and Vanessa, following George Floyd’s death,’ Dugan says. ‘Many of the participants, such as Andrea Jenkins, are trans people of colour whose courage and hard work demonstrate the power of activism to affect social change.’

‘We were aware that, in many cases, transgender older adults were directly responsible for the progress around gender and sexuality that we benefit from today’

Above: Andrea, 54, Minneapolis, MN, 2016. Below: Vanessa, 51, Atlanta, GA, 2016

In addition to the exhibition, Dugan’s body of work also exists as a limited edition portfolio that’s been designed for university and teaching museums’ use. The full interview transcripts are also being donated to a variety of archives.

‘My work does not attempt to provide definitive answers; rather, it invites viewers to engage with others in an intimate, meaningful way, requiring them to reflect on their own identities in the process,’ Dugan concludes. ‘I hope that my photographs both validate those within queer communities and educate those who are not LGBTQ or who may be unfamiliar with LGBTQ people.’ §

Dee Dee Ngozi, 55, Atlanta, GA, 2016

Introducing the MC20 – the new Maserati super sports car

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 11:30:00 GMT

Fortune favours the brave. The 1970s were an era of mid-engine madness, when the big sports car makers explored the packaging options of putting the engine behind the driver, allowing for better balance, sleeker aerodynamics, and — most importantly of all — more outrageous styling. Some of the greatest Italian cars of the era benefitted from this layout, from Ferrari’s first mid-engine road car, the 1971 Berlinetta Boxer, through to the angular Lamborghini Countach that ushered in the supercar era. Their compatriots, Maserati, made a similar transition from front-engine sports cars and grand tourers to low-slung two-seaters, with the introduction of the 1971 Bora and its successor, the Merak (actually a four-seater, albeit with very small rear seats). For Maserati, it was an expensive foray into new territory. The 70s fuel crisis, a short but ultimately disastrous spell of ownership by the French marque Citroen, and perpetual cash flow problems meant that Maserati was never able to capitalise on the super sports genre, and the company that ultimately emerged focused almost exclusively on sports GTs and saloons. In 1993 Maserati reconnected with its Italian ancestry with its sale to Fiat and the company has been part of the FCA Group (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) since 2011.

Now the mid-engine Maserati is back in the form of the MC20. Unveiled in early September, it is the car to take Maserati into a new decade, as well as being the first all-new product from the company since the launch of the Ghibli in 2013. On the one hand, it’s a spiritual evolution of a very limited-edition machine, the MC12 Stradale, a raw road-going version of GT racer, developed from the Ferrari Enzo in 2004 of which just 50 examples were made. But on the other it’s a challenger to the status quo established by Ferrari and Lamborghini and soon Aston Martin.

The Maserati Corse 2020 is about speed, dynamics and power. Built around a carbon-fibre monocoque, the MC20 is pared back and functional, inside and out. It exudes a compact, taut capability, and the white finish on the show car’s bodywork is a world away from the glossy, shouty reds and yellows of its rivals. Scissor doors allow access to a dark, focused cockpit, with plenty of exposed carbon-fibre and Alcantara finishes. The audio system was designed in conjunction with Sonus Faber, the acclaimed Italian loudspeaker manufacturers, and is controlled via a dash-mounted tablet. The car will debut with a twin turbo V6, with a hybrid and pure electric version further down the line.

We spoke to Klaus Busse, the man who heads up FCA’s design team, overseeing Fiat, Abarth, Lancia, and Alfa Romeo, as well as Maserati, about the origins and aspirations for the company’s new model

Wallpaper*: This is the first mid-engine Maserati production car for many years. Did you take inspiration from the past or is it a clean sheet design? 

Klaus Buss: When it comes to designing a car, how clean sheet can the design really be? If I were to describe the design philosophy behind the MC20 in two words, they would be Purity and Contrast. As you can see from the car, the design is all about purity contrasted by extremely complex functional areas. One of our main inspirations for the MC20 came from the A6GCS Pinin Farina of the 1950s. This car in fact, is naturally pure and beautifully sculpted, creating a silhouette praised for its simplicity, which is then contrasted by the exposed exhaust pipes underneath the driver’s door showcasing its high degree of functionality. This is the same design philosophy used for the MC20 where the upper part of the car is all about purity and sculptural simplicity, while the lower part is true technical performance.

W*: What about more recent examples from the company’s history?  

KB: MC20’s design philosophy was not the only thing that was born by looking back into Maserati’s past: there are some details in this new super sports car that are echoes from the past. For example, the new face of Maserati – as in with the low front grill and the high headlights – were inspired by the MC12. MC20 represents not only an ode to the brand’s past achievements but is also the face of Maseratis of the future.

W*: How long has this car been in planning?

KB: The development period for the MC20 was about 24 months.

W*: What are the key visual elements that define a mid-engine Maserati?

KB: There are no key elements that are specific to a mid-engine Maserati, but there are key visual elements that define the MC20 and Maserati’s aesthetic future. As mentioned, our design philosophy is driven by purity. For the MC20, this translated in creating something with no frills, no excess, and no unnecessary details. We tried to avoid visual noise, in order for the car to speak for itself. We did not design it around the air intakes; on the contrary, we restrained ourselves and have them only where they are absolutely necessary. By doing so, we now have a car that is a pure sculpture reduced to the main proportions. A car that does not need to shout at its environment through loud detailing, but truly stands out for raw beauty and capabilities. 

W*:How does the design express the technology of the launch V6 and possible future powertrains?

KB: The MC20, being a super sports car in every inch of its design, was created by respecting and embracing technological and performance necessities. Whether it is the silhouette of the car that defines the cabin space, or the aerodynamic flow and the downforce of the car, Maserati has brought to the market a dynamic sculpture, powered V6 twin turbo petrol engine, which will propel the brand into the future. In addition, one should notice the balance between the pure elegance of the silhouette and the integrated air intakes, which are needed to supply the necessary cooling and the thermal exhaust to the V6. However, it is fundamental to keep in mind that the true expression of MC20 is in the incredible collaboration and teamwork we had with the engineers in Modena. §

Lip service: Hermès launches new limited-edition lipsticks

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 10:31:15 GMT

Earlier this year, Hermès ignited a flurry of excitement when it launched Rouge Hermès, a line of refillable lipsticks that marked the brand’s first foray into beauty and the beginning of what will become a full make-up range and skincare line.

Keeping our interest ever piqued, Hermès today launches three new lipstick shades in limited edition cases. Each shade is a variation on classic pinks, ranging from Rose Ombrè, a muted rosewood colour, to Rose Pommette, a vibrant sunset pink, and Rose Nuit, a subtle matte rose with blue undertones.

The collection comes packaged in the now-classic Hermès lipstick tubes designed by the brand’s veteran shoe and jewellery designer, Pierre Hardy. As Hardy told Wallpaper* about the design of the lipsticks back in February, ‘I thought, let’s act as though nothing else existed. I will try to create the quintessence of an object that is feminine, pure, simple. One that is immediately desirable but will stand the test of time, and that can convey the Hermès style: luxury and sobriety.’

These limited-edition objects are available in three shade combinations, each intended to evoke the transition from the light hues of autumn to the darker tones of winter- a minty green paired with navy blue, a rosebud pink with a deep teal, and a sky blue contrasted with an earthy brown.

In true Hermès fashion, the shades have been pulled from various fine artworks including, ‘the silent perspectives of Charles Sheeler, the calm beauty of the still lifes and domestic landscapes by John Register and Arduino Cantàfora, and the abstract compositions of Jean Hélion.’ §

Rothko Chapel reopens in Houston following restoration works

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 10:22:45 GMT

Following over a year of closure for restoration works, the Rothko Chapel in Houston has now reopened to the public. The well known sacred space was dedicated in 1917 and features 14 monumental Mark Rothko canvases as per the original vision of the artist and John and Dominique de Menil, the Chapel’s founders.

The restoration is just the first phase of Opening Spaces, a $30-million master plan for its campus, conceived by New York-based firm, Architecture Research Office. The firm also oversaw the structure’s renovation.

During this process, the building’s skylight, lighting design and entryway were reconfigured to be better aligned with the project’s original aim so that visitors can freely interact with the artworks. The lighting adjustments were made by specialist design firm George Sexton Associates. Changes have included removing obstructions in order to allow natural light in the open plan interior.

Complementing the chapel, this September also saw the opening of the Suzanne Deal Booth Welcome House, a new built pavilion, which sits immediately to the north of the Chapel. This addition serves as a gathering point for the monument, as well as a formal welcoming space for groups and guided tours and an area for interactive educational opportunities. It also includes a gift shop and bookstore.

The surrounding landscape was redesigned by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, providing ample and serene, green space. A sculpture, Broken Obelisk by Barnett Newman, also sits on the grounds, dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1971 – the same year as the Chapel’s founding.

This highlights the chapel’s commitment to human rights and social justice. The structure has always served as an open spiritual space for both solitude and gathering, dedicated to ‘increased opportunities for spiritual growth and dialogue,’ says the institution - welcoming to all, regardless of faith, spiritual or religious background. §

Loungewear brands to unwind in

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 17:54:57 GMT

Soft, natural fabrics are fit for cosying up in. Here, we present the brands for bringing you a touch of tactile joy

Toast

Want to snuggle up and feel satisfied on the inside too? We suggest investing in Toasts’s latest cashmere two piece – which in a sustainable spin – is made from 100% fine micron recycled cashmere, spun in Prato, Italy. We have a particular penchant for the luxuriously slouchy silhouette of this jumper, available in oatmeal or navy. ‘With generous sleeves and a boat neck line, the sweater is a stylised version of a mariner’s sweater, a classic reference for us at Toast,’ says Laura Shippey, Head of Design. ‘The whole ensemble is perfect to slouch elegantly about the home, but also bundled with a thick sock and clog for outdoors.’

Ven Store

As a fashion editor, Charlotte Lewis spent her time travelling on long-haul flights, which sparked her idea to start Ven – a cashmere brand for the modern traveller. Beautiful and timeless, her luxurious travel essentials and leisurewear, made with Mongolian yarns and hand finished between Shanghai and Nepal, are produced in small quantities to minimise waste. Boasting a pared-back aesthetic, the simple yet perfectly fitted pieces – including a resortwear line of summer staples – cater for fuss-free globetrotters with a curated capsule wardrobe. ‘Ven is designed to make life a little easier for the discerning traveller,’ says Lewis. ‘Considered, functional, hardworking pieces that don’t sacrifice comfort for style.’ More recently, the brand launched new classic styles including a wool and cashmere blanket, the ideal travel companion for your next winter destination.

Le Kasha

The spirit of travel has long embodied heritage label Le Kasha – its cashmere pieces are crafted using the finest fiber sourced from the Alashan and Arbus regions of Inner Mongolia. Today, the label – steered by Mali Marciano – specialises in neutral loungewear, the lightest cashmere separates and fluid silk dresses. Although the prospect of upcoming adventure has dwindled, we suggest you snuggle up and dream of ensuing escapades in the label’s stripe cashmere sweater. Its sea foam stripes will have you dreaming of the seaside.

Tekla

The new, cool Scandi brand to silently burst on the fashion scene is Copenhagen-based home textile studio Tekla. Towels, bathrobes, bed linens and blankets in bold hues are thoughtfully designed with the environment in mind, while being affordable and relevant for the contemporary home. ‘It took almost a year and a half to find the quality and the producer that we were happy working with,’ says Tekla’s founder and former Acne Studios creative Charlie Hedin. ‘Finding the pieces suitable for the modern world also means something long-lasting that serves a sustainable purpose.’ Woven from organic terry cotton, the hygge-driven products are inspired by contemporary culture to create soft and smooth fabrics providing tranquillity and comfort in the heart of your home.

Olivia Von Halle

The London based brand is a cult favourite when it comes to cosying up. Olivia Von Halle launched her eponymous label in 2011 – inspired by the lounging pyjamas worn by Coco Chanel in the Twenties – which boasts a breadth of lounging options, from silk robes to sleeping masks. Halle’s silk-cashmere tracksuits are also a firm downtime favourite, and we recommend snuggling up in this style in the subtlest of caramels. The hooded sweatshirt’s gold toned hardware will have you feeling glamorous even when your only hangouts are in the home.

Pour Les Femmes

Founded by actress and activist Robin Wright and designer Karen Fowler, Pour Les Femmes is a socially conscious sleepwear brand offering cosy pyjamas and sensual slip dresses. Working with charitable programmes, the label supports women in Congo’s conflicted regions by giving them safe working conditions and the opportunity to learn a precious craft. The fair-trade pieces then feature hand embroidered detailing, vintage lace and soft cottons with a romantic and bohemian feel adapted to suit the modern woman. ‘At Pour Les Femmes, we practice slow fashion meaning we hand cut our garments and pay three times the normal wage,’ explain the two friends. ‘We don’t mass-produce and try to use all of the extra fabric for lingerie bags and sleep mask.’ Another reason to get in bed with an ethical brand this season. §

Victorian terraced houses inspire this mindful flexible workspace

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 14:12:01 GMT

With the conversation around heading back to offices remaining a contentious subject, the arrival of a domestically-designed flexible one is much appreciated. The Office Group’s (TOG) newest spot, United House, has popped up in London’s neighbourhood of Notting Hill with interiors by Universal Design Studios, and it is the homely alternative to our own homes.

‘The design is highly contextual and centred around humanness, in large part informed by the surrounding area’s character to create a welcoming and spirited destination for members,’ says Paul Gulati, director at Universal Design Studios. As many of us have become used to working from the sofa, this human-centric design approach is welcomed, and comes to fruition via soft furnishings that divide areas, and private office spaces that are identifiable by terrace house-style doorways with lighting.

Creamy green and muted tones of beige and grey keep this theme going – and the calming energy is further enhanced by The Office Group’s first ever Mindful Lounge, created in partnership with immersive meditation experts OPO. The area is flooded with neuro-sonic soundscapes that people can enjoy while sitting on poufs inside. Currently members can book in to enjoy a private moment of peace, but eventually this wellness spot hopes to host events, including yoga sessions and acupuncture.

Housed in a 1960s concrete-framed structure, the 41,000 sq ft space offers up panoramic views of the city on the higher floors, and colourful shop fronts of Notting Hill terraces on the lower. Like many of The Office Group’s 40 London locations, the area has a mix of private phone booths, larger meeting rooms and light-filled communal areas. Elements of the outdoors are seen inside with plants, textured mosaic tiled surfaces and timber-framed rattan screens.

While United House was in the making pre-pandemic, The Office Group’s flexible working environments offer social distancing and plenty of privacy. ‘We wanted to create a space that our members – be it businesses, local residents who might usually work from home, or our existing members with access to any of our 40 distinctively designed buildings – feel comfortable and inspired to work in,’ says Nasim Köerting, head of design at TOG. §

Sydney beach house features sweeping roof among sand dunes

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 13:00:00 GMT

Recipient of an architecture award from the Australian Institute of Architects (NSW Chapter), the Basin Beach House, perched above the sand dunes, appears to be on its own. However, since the current owner purchased what was decades ago a countryside cottage, Monavale, a 20-minute drive from Sydney, is now part of suburbia. Designed by eminent architect Peter Stutchbury, the seaside residence is as far from ‘suburban’ as one could possibly find. Resembling a broad-brimmed beach house, this adventurous home was as much the result of a client wanting something considerably more.

‘Our client is an elderly gentleman who has always lived in architect-designed homes as well as surrounding himself with architects, both as family and friends. In this case, his son-in law, also an architect, recommended Peter [Stutchbury],’ says project architect Belinda Koopman, a director of Peter Stutchbury Architecture.

Peter Stutchbury Architecture was fortunate to be given an open brief in terms of design. ‘From the early discussions, Peter was keen to know how our client lived, the routine of his day and details as to where he would enjoy having his morning coffee,’ says Koopman, who enjoys hearing feedback from locals, as well as the broader community. ‘Some see the house as tent-like, while others have drawn a comparison to the distinctive headdress worn by Sister Bertrille in the 1960s television series The Flying Nun.’

However, unlike the nun’s headgear, this beach house is solidly anchored in the sand dunes, with massive, in situ, triangle-shaped concrete piers. In contrast, the hat or ceiling of the beach house is lined in plywood, with the eaves extending from 3.5m down to 1m in width. ‘We were mindful of creating protection from the sunlight, but the change in dimensions [for the eaves] sets up a rhythm that you could say makes the house ‘sing’,’ says Koopman. The protective shell, with its copper roof, also takes on the conditions of this unique site, faced with the on-shore wind and salt air that it carries.

In contrast to the home’s robust exterior, the interior features blackbutt timber joinery and brass detailing. Rather than segment rooms with floor-to-ceiling walls, the blackbutt joinery in the kitchen, for example, creates a subtle division to the living areas either side: a sitting area at one end, with an open plan dining and living area at the other. Complete with three bedrooms, two at ground level, with the main and ensuite on the first floor, the house can be enjoyed by the owner, or when family and friends stay over. Concrete floors allow sand to be dragged in by children and grandchildren, and although conceived like a jewellery-box, the home is far from precious.

Koopman looks at the wavy roof form, which partially took its inspiration from the gnarled ti-trees on the site and in the neighbouring reserve. ‘If you look at these trees, the branches are slightly twisted, shaped by the wind. But at the same time, the angle opens up the vista of the headlands,’ adds Koopman. §

Vaara’s warming workout essentials

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 11:27:53 GMT

Vaara

The London-based brand’s serving of ‘soft sport apparel’, is suited to a range of activity from yoga to barre, running to reformer pilates. For A/W 2020, Vaara founder Tatiana Korsakova has also proposed a range of warming workout essentials for keeping you cosy when exercising outside or snuggling into post digital studio workout on the sofa. We’re warming towards the brand’s scarf ponchos, rib knit sweaters and waist cinching bodysuits, imagined in timless tones like black, maroon and navy.

Arket

In today’s uncertain era, self-care has never been more important, and we’re focused on taking time to relax the both the mind and body. Lucky for us, when we next practice our flow, we’ll be feeling stress free in Arket’s newest yoga collection, an offering of bodysuits, rib knit bralettes and body suits with smooth seamless constructions. Whether you’re working out at home or heading back to a studio, you’ll be the envy of other class attendees or those on a live workout call.

Kenzo Sport

When Kenzo Takada arrived in Paris from Japan in a whirlwind of easy cottons, kimono shapes and colourful shawls in 1964, he ushered in a stiff upper lip-subverting aesthetic that encouraged easy movement. Now, Felipe Oliveira Baptista - who took the creative helm of the house last summer, has celebrated that sensibility, with the launch of Kenzo Sport - an energetic men’s and women’s collection of workout wear, that includes puffer jackets and windbreakers, t-shirts and crop tops. The styles feature graphic emblems, technical details and colour-blocked flourishes, guaranteed to ensure you stand out when breaking a socially distanced sweat.

Full Court Sport

Collection 3, by Full Court Sport

Today, former world number 1 Kim Clijsters returns to the US Open. The Belgian star – who announced her second professional retirement in 2012 – will be making a style grand slam, sporting custom tennis gear designed by Full Court, the black and woman-owned sports label founded by Marguerite Wade in 2014. ‘I’m a longtime fan and I’ve always loved Kim’s quiet intensity. I recognise a similar determination in myself when I launched Full Court Sport. I’m both excited and inspired by Kim’s comeback, especially her choice to return to pro tennis, once again, as a champion and a mother. Full Court Sport is honoured to be along for this ride with Kim,’ says the label’s founder of the winning collaboration. Should you also feel enticed to reach for your racket, we recommended gearing up in the brand’s sports bras and tennis skirts in dusty rose tones and dresses and sweatshirts in eye-catching teal. If your hand eye coordination is lacking, at least you’ll be scoring points when it comes to style.

Ernest Leoty

Ernest Leoty S/S 2020

There’s a sensuality behind the Paris-based label’s designs, unsurprising when you learn its roots lie in a corset maison which, instead of constraining women, encouraged streamlined and easy movement. Leoty’s S/S 2020 offering boasts a host of alluring designs, from plunging swimsuits to corset-inspired bodysuits, throw-on tank tops to cycling shorts in magenta, cerise and taupe. Leoty’s collections are produced in European factories which are leaders in sportswear, using eco-aware practises and fabrics.

COS

A new 15 piece capsule collections marks COS’ first move into activewear, and it’s scoring high energy style points. Not only are the pieces - which range from colour blocked leggings to cagoules, sweaters to cycle shorts - available in an array of delectable shades like frosted pink and petrol, its fabrications are also sustainably sourced. Fit them into your self-care routine now, whether you favour a spot of relaxing yin yoga or an energetic HIT class from you living room.

Arket

Arket Running

19 January is the supposed day that all of our New Year’s Resolutions – be they a new fitness regime, a digital detox or a dedication to veganism – go out of the window. But with Arket’s latest Running range, now there’s a new reason to keep up your athletic-focused resolve. The retailer has launched a sleek, pared back men’s and women’s offering, using sustainable fabrics including recycled polyester, from snuggly fleece hoodies to cycle shorts, windbreakers to t-shirts, in shades of minimalist black and grey, with pops of camouflage and tangerine. We suggest you style up and amp up your 2020 exercise regime, be it running, rowing or versacliming.

Live The Process

Live The Process A/W 2019. Photography: Daisy Walker

In 2010, fashion PR Robyn Berkley took a year out from the mania of Manhattan, swapping its bustling streets for the beaches of Bali, where she trained as a yoga practitioner. There, inspired by her training as a dancer and gymnast, and her fascination with performance wear which was technical, but also bridged the gap between gym gear and a wardrobe staple, Berkley conceived the activewear label Live The Process. ‘There was nothing celebrating elegance and femininity,’ Berkley says of the aesthetic of the brand, co-founded with Jared Vere. Its first off-duty ballet dancer-inspired collection featured bodysuits and high-waisted leggings, in breathable, moisture-wicking, durable and body moulding fabrics that took two years to develop. Every piece is made in America.

For A/W 2019, think knitted crop tops, cut-out leotards and skinny flared trousers, layered with balletic ribbed cardigans and A-line skirts in retro, colour-blocked hues of claret, cream and tan. ‘We focused on the concept of radiant gems,’ Berkley explains of the tones. ‘Ruby is symbolic of nobility and divine creativity…Tigers Eye, our accent colour, increases vitality’. Machine washable knitwear provides exercisers with post-workout warmers and high performing seamless styles are 3D printed. ‘It was nine years ago when I closed my eyes during meditation in Bali wondering what to do next,’ Berkley enthuses. ‘And here we are today!’

lululemon x Roksanda

For S/S 2020, Roksanda Ilinčić imbued her idiosyncractic colour-blocked eveningwear with an easy daytime elegance, pairing flowing gowns with sherbert yellow parkas and crushed metal yarn taffeta skirts with sweatshirts. Now the London-based designer has moved one step further into feel good, performance enhancing pieces with her collaboration with Canadian athletic label lululemon.

‘Now more than ever, women are focused on pushing boundaries. They’re looking for product that enhances the balance of style and function,’ Ilinčić says of the 16-piece collection, which features sleeping bag coats, bell sleeve jackets, leggings and quilted gym bags in mauve, tangerine and turquoise, topped off with intrepid hiking ropes. ‘They’re [women] looking for product that enhances the balance of style and function. lululemon’s codes mean each product has a strong sense of function—ultimately the wellbeing of the wearer.’

lululemon has collaborated with a host of fitness companies including SoulCycle and Barry’s Bootcamp, but this marks the label’s first luxury partnership. ‘We’re innovating in touch, temperature and movement through our proprietary technical fabrics, features including reflective details and packability,’ says Audrey Reilly, SVP, women’s design at lululemon. ‘Roksanda has a magical hand with colour and innately understands shape and volume. We were intrigued with the idea of understanding how to marry her brand codes with lululemon’s functionality.’

Nagnata

Movement 004 by Nagnata

‘My moodboard is an ongoing myriad of vintage fabric swatches and wool knit swimsuits from the 1920s through to the 60s like Rudi Gernreich pieces, mixed in with 90s fashion campaigns from Jil Sander and Alaïa to Sports Illustrated covers,’ says Laura-May Gibbs, co-founder of Australian activewear label Nagnata. For its Movemenet 004 collection, this means retro cropped sweaters, cycle shorts and spaghetti strap dresses in knitted checks, textural plaids and houndstooth jacquards in tropic green, neon pink and high alert red.

Gibbs and her sister Laura launched their sustainability-focused knitwear-focused label in 2017. Its core seamless collection is constructed from a super fine wool and Tencel blend, using Australian Merino – a natural, biodegradable and renewable fiber. ‘People don’t necessarily associate merino wool with sports but if you use the yarn in the right way it is incredible,’ Gibbs explains. The brand also adopt a zero-yarn waste approach, where pieces are constructed to shape using a flat-bed knitted technique, which eliminates excess fabric wastage.

‘It’s important to keep synthetics away from your skin, especially in your yoga or sports practice when your pores are wide open,’ Gibbs says. For autumn Nagnata have developed an elastic and soft knit construction of superfine Merino Wool wrapped around a high-stretch filament yarn, where only natural fibres touch the skin. ‘Our brand concept is based around studio-to-street style,’ she adds of the label’s new sensual dress shape. ‘Growing up I would go from yoga in the morning to work, then the beach for a swim after work and out for dinner, all without going home to dress.’ §