Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week

A fashion homage

Nick Vinson, contributing editor

On Sunday, I flew to Milan to attend the 50th Anniversary of Giorgio Armani – a black-tie event held at the Pinacoteca di Brera. The evening featured the late designer’s final collection for spring/summer 2026, shown in the cloisters, as well as the opening of the exhibition Giorgio Armani. Milano, per amore, which showcased 133 historical looks representing his five-decade career, displayed among the artworks in the upstairs galleries. The night concluded with a chic dînatoire.

Some of Armani’s favorite models, including Gina Di Bernardo – who walked his shows in the 80s and 90s and was a face of his iconic ad campaigns shot by Aldo Fallai – returned to the runway, accompanied by a live performance from pianist Ludovico Einaudi. Mr. Armani passed away on 4 September – naturally, the details of this event were planned months in advance, and every aspect was personally approved by him (as was his way). His design team followed his wishes to the letter.

I enjoyed rubbing pagoda shoulders with Cate Blanchett, dressed in Armani Privé, as well as Glenn Close – but the real treat was seeing Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton (dressed in a white silk smoking jacket) sitting side by side in the front row. Earlier that same week, I had rewatched American Gigolo, made in 1980 when the Giorgio Armani brand was just five years old – a notable beginning to the designer's long relationship with Hollywood. Richard Gere’s now 45-year-old outfits, supplied by the then-young designer, still look perfect today. In the film, Gere wears several versions of a two-pocket shirt – I’d kill to wear them now. That is the essence of Giorgio Armani’s timeless and enduring style.

A Stirling Prize preview

Ellie Stathaki, architecture & environment director

In the architecture world, October means Stirling Prize, and the announcement of the award for the UK's best building of the year is fast approaching. In anticipation, and to explore projects and themes, I was invited by the RIBA to chair a panel discussion among the six practices on the 2025 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist at the Barbican this week. It was such a privilege to take on the task, hear more about all the projects and chat about what they mean for their clients, wider communities and the architecture world beyond. Big thanks to all involved. Can't wait for the 16th October, when the top gong is revealed.

A flavour journey

Tianna Williams, staff writer

abc kitchens was Monday night’s dinner spot, nestled on the ground floor of The Emory on Old Barrack Yard. Weaving through polished corridors, the restaurant opens up with high ceilings and tarnished wood, inspired by naval architecture and concealed from the outside world behind a glistening glass façade. Designed by Rémi Tessier and featuring artworks by Damien Hirst, the restaurant boasts modernity and elevated sophistication. The kitchen is helmed by chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and the menu offers an assortment of dishes inspired by Mexico, Asia, and Europe.

The evening began with a cucumber martini, swiftly followed by an array of table snacks, from sweet pea guacamole to green chickpea hummus. For starters, I would recommend a selection of fresh salads, such as the crispy cabbage and kale Caesar salad. I find decent Mexican food hard to come by in London, but the BBQ pork tacos – garnished with pickled pineapple and Fresno chili relish – had a fun Californian spin. To finish, the light and zesty coconut panna cotta with tropical fruit was divine.

A city sojourn

Sofia de la Cruz, travel editor

Last week, I spent an eventful 24 hours in Antwerp, a sojourn I’ll remember for a long time. I was invited by the city’s fashion museum, MoMu, to see its new exhibition ‘Girls. On Boredom, Rebellion and Being In-Between’, a multidisciplinary exploration of girlhood’s cultural significance through works by artists such as Sofia Coppola, Louise Bourgeois, and Alice Neel. Afterwards, I tried to squeeze in as much as possible, visiting photography institution FOMU, eating a ‘croque vegan’ at the steel-clad cafe Tinsel, and browsing the multilayered Ann Demeulemeester store. A chiaroscuro piece from the Belgian designer’s beautiful Serax collection has now joined my ever-growing mug collection.

A design deep-dive

Anna Solomon, digital staff writer

I spent the better part of this week in València, where the balmy 25-degree weather was a welcome last hurrah for summer. Or, it would have been, had I not been sequestered in a gigantic expo hall on the city’s outskirts for the duration of my stay. The occasion was Feria Hábitat València – Spain’s leading fair for furniture, lighting, home textiles and interiors. I was there to take the pulse of contemporary Spanish design.

My biggest takeaway was that furniture design seems moving beyond just visual appeal, emphasising instead clever, customisable features (invisible to the naked eye, of course). Invisible tabs reclined seats; connections between infinite modular configurations were hidden; and new materials allowed furniture to move between indoor and outdoor use. The old trade-off between style and function? A thing of the past.

A cultural exploration

Jamilah Rose-Roberts, social media editor

Earlier this week, a friend of mine received tickets to the ICA for the launch of Liz Johnson Artur's new book, I Will Keep You in Good Company. The book gathers pages from more than twenty of Johnson Artur's handmade workbooks, begun in the early 1990s – part diary, part experimental playground. Through layering, annotating, and collaging, they chart the evolution of her photographic language and her way of processing both images and life.

The evening began with screenings of three short films: Real Times (2018), Black Balloon Archive (2016), and Afro Russia (2019). Each expanded on themes running through her work, from Black British history and resistance to the complexities of others’ mixed African/Black and Russian heritage. Watching them together was a reminder of how Johnson Artur's practice navigates identity, community, and the politics of belonging with a rare tenderness and clarity.

Following this, there was a conversation with designer Martine Rose and Johnson Artur, drawing out the intersections between art, fashion, and cultural memory, before the night closed with a book signing. While the films are not currently available to view, I Will Keep You in Good Company can be found online or at the ICA.

Art in Athens

Gabriel Annouka, senior designer

Whilst in Athens, I visited Sylvia Kouvali, a gallery housed in a converted industrial space in Piraeus, which I had first encountered at Condo London back in January. Inside, Haris Epaminonda's retrospective, VOL. XXXIII, plays with space with both mischief and precision. Built walls hide objects, images flirt with each other in stacks, and a video plays in an enclosed space you can only spy through a small porthole. The rooms are intimate, slightly unruly, and composed of fragments of memory, books, and history. Nothing is ever complete; everything feels deliciously on edge.

A revived legacy

Bill Prince, editor-in-chief

On Friday, I popped in to see La France de Bernard Buffet at Opera Gallery in Mayfair. Co-curated by my friend and colleague Nick Foulkes, it demonstrates one of the reappearing acts of the last few years: the rehabilitation of a French post-war figurative artist at one stage thought lost to the vagaries of fashion.

We are all intrigued by the way our culture overwrites itself at regular intervals, from silent movie stars to the polymath artists of the music hall era, we find ourselves drawn more to the forgotten than to the ritually trumpeted. Buffet was once one such casualty. Now, thanks to the work of Nick and co-curator Giulia Lecchini, deputy director at Opera Gallery London, no longer.

A talent showcase

Charlotte Gunn, director of digital content

Last night I attended Abbey Road's annual Music Photography Awards, held in the renowned Studio One and Two. A couple of legends in the field – David Bailey and Anton Corbijn – received the Lifetime Achievement and ICON awards, respectively. But it was exciting to see the wealth of emerging talent on show. We loved Melissa Gardner's winning photo of Lava La Rue.

A joyous launch

Anna Fixsen, US editor

Fun fact: my middle name is Joy. So when Marc Jacobs launched his JOY artist capsule collection, in which the designer tapped creatives David Shrigley, Derrick Adams and Hattie Stewart to design a series of happy bags and accessories, I was all aboard. Last night, the brand had plenty to celebrate, including the launch of the JOY Soda Shop at The Standard, Highline and the premiere of Fairyland, a new coming-of-age film set amid the AIDS crisis directed by Andrew Durham and produced by Sofia Coppola. Beneath festive umbrellas and cheeky decor by Adams, Stewart and Shrigley (I was partial to his ‘Joy is Bananas’ coasters), guests – including Coppola and her daughter, Romy Mars – sipped daiquiris, noshed on fries and caught up with fellow creatives. Because if there’s anything we need in this moment of uncertainty, it’s an excuse for a good time.