Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been up to this week

A blistering performance

Sofia de la Cruz, Travel Editor

After months of anticipation, the moment to see Tyler, The Creator perform at the O2 finally arrived for me a couple of nights ago. Currently touring his eighth studio album, Chromakopia, the performance marked the Grammy-winning rapper’s first live appearance in the British capital in six years. Even though the venue was buzzing with a lively crowd dressed in colourful cardigans and snapbacks, our collective energy couldn’t match the force Tyler brought to the stage. The show delivered a spectacle of sharp solo choreography, pyrotechnics, and venom-green strobe lights. Yet, those were just the trimmings. The true magic was all Tyler and his alter egos. One moment, he had us swaying with raw, romantic vulnerability; the next, sparking a frenzy with blistering verses and an irresistible groove.

A colourful collaboration

Jonathan Bell, Transport and Technology Editor

Mercedes teamed up with Swedish designer Gustaf Westman to create a one-off sculptural reinterpretation of the new Mercedes CLA. Replete in a park-like installation in Shoreditch's Protein Studios – a sort of Westman World – the bubblegum pink-coloured car was joined by an assortment of everyday auto-infused objects reimagined by the designer. All this was revealed before an audience of influencers, media types and Merc fanboys and girls, with special cans of Gustaf's Beer to wash it all down. It's all part of the marque’s ‘Class of Creators’ initiative, hoping to pull a younger, more creative audience towards the model.

A lounge-worthy launch

Anna Solomon, Digital Staff Writer

I ventured into London’s design district to see (and sample) Gubi’s F300 chair from Pierre Paulin, which has just launched alongside the brand’s T877 table and a special edition of the 9602 light. Although these pieces were the official occasion, I was also keen to sneak a peek inside the first Gubi House outside of Denmark – an elegant townhouse on the cobbled Charterhouse Square and the perfect showcase for the brand’s cool, contemporary collections.

A space for art supporters

Bill Prince, Editor-in-Chief

This week I toured London’s newest members’ club – accessed through an imposing door that faces directly onto Trafalgar Square. Not there yet? Then let me explain. For the first time, the National Gallery has dedicated a single space for its members and patrons, carved from former curatorial offices on the ground floor of its Wilkins’ Building. Coinciding with the unveiling of a refreshed Sainsbury’s Wing, complete with a new restaurant helmed by Giorgio Locatelli, the new Supporters’ House offers a bar, lounge and dining room designed by New York-based architect Annabelle Selldorf, working with Purcell Architects, with interiors by Studio Linse. A private dining room inspired by Turner’s sunsets sits at the centre of the house, while an intimate salon space will host talks by gallery curators. Coining its own ‘House’ within the gallery is no coincidence: a far cry from traditional ‘members’ rooms’ where friends of an institution can catch their breath over tea and cake, the look and the feel of the place could pass for one of Nick Jones’ early forays into Georgian London landmarks (Soho House debuted in 1995 at 40 Greek Street). Expect sign-ups for membership at Supporters’ House to be brisk.

A café concept with cocktails

Charlotte Gunn, Director of Digital Content

I stopped by a new addition to Portobello Road, Permit Room: Dishoom's all-day café concept. The menu features all the old favourites (the black dahl that everyone over-hypes) and site-specific additions such as snackable chaats and a whole tandoori chicken. Cocktails and light bites are really the focus here – the chai martini hit the spot – and a mix of western and south Asian DJs spin tunes until the early hours. But perhaps most excitingly, for the Americans who flock to the now-famed curry house, there are rooms to rent upstairs.