At Wallpaper*, we champion the design-led, forward-thinking and impeccably executed. We’re always on the lookout for compelling creations – from objects and accessories to jewellery, fashion and tech – and aim to bring you pieces that subvert, surprise and delight.
In The Design Drop, we highlight the most striking objects to land that month. Think of it as a wish list for the design-discerning: browse, admire – and, if tempted, acquire.
Read on to discover April's standout pieces from our favourite brands and studios.
Satoshi Kondo of Issey Miyake tore apart and reassembled existing Camper shoes to develop the Karst Finch – a Mary Jane silhouette with a bubble sole, named after the finch bird whose plumage inspired its palette of pink, yellow, green and blue. Each pair comes with two pairs of socks in matching or contrasting tones, inviting the wearer to personalise the look.
Rimowa has expanded its polycarbonate Essential range with two new pop-inflected colourways: a high-impact orange and a deep fuchsia magenta, which join existing shades of terracotta red and ballerina pink. Available across various sizes from ‘Cabin’ to ‘Trunk Plus’, each features the brand's stage-free telescopic handle, 'Multiwheel' system and TSA-approved locks. The new pieces were launched via a campaign starring Spanish actress and Almodóvar muse Rossy de Palma.
Launched at Milan Design Week, which ran from 20-26 April, the Disco Aperitivo collection by New York-Paris-based glassware designer Sophie Lou Jacobsen draws on the 1980s aesthetic of Milan's aperitivo bars. It spans drinking glasses, ashtrays, a theatrical cigarette holder (pictured above), patterned glass plates, handwoven silk placemats and copper-enamelled trays – the latter using a near-lost technique revived by a Venetian fabricator.
For his first major accessories project at Gucci, creative director Demna selected ten archive prints to adorn ten silk scarves. Two feature the house's iconic 'Flora' motif – originally created for Grace Kelly in 1966 – and were made exclusively for the opening of LACMA's new Peter Zumthor-designed David Geffen Galleries. A partnership with Calabrian collective Nido di Seta aims to revive Italy's silk supply chain.
Milan-based industrial designer Raffaella Mangiarotti continues her Ikea collaboration with two new sculptural floor lamps. The 'Mossplym' (above) combines solid oak, blow-moulded glass and Carrara marble with a dual uplighter and reading light, while the angular 'Trådnate' features two parallel support which cast light in opposite directions. Both are decided statement objects as opposed to background pieces.
Designed by former Apple designer Eugene Whang – a collaborator of Jony Ive – this travel roll is cut from a single sheet of undyed 'Ultrasuede', a partially plant-based Japanese material. It holds four Humanrace products and is designed to take up minimal space when full, and essentially zero space once empty. Whang's first beauty project, it reflects Humanrace's signature pared-back philosophy.
One of the first launches under new Loewe creative directors Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, this richer concentration of the house's popular Aire Sutileza retains its pear notes while amplifying floral and musky qualities with bergamot, lemon, fleur d'oranger and Spanish rockrose. Presented in a gorgeous leaf-green gradient glass flask.
Defined by its crescent silhouette and Miu Miu’s signature pillowy matelassé quilting – a technique that the house has presented on the runway since the early 2000s – the Wander captures a free-spirited femininity. It recently starred as the protagonist of Joanna Hogg's short film Autobiografia di una Borsetta for Miu Miu's 'Women's Tales' series, and is available in satin, taffeta and leather iterations.
This updated illustrated history of jeweller Eddie Plein – who fitted grills for A$AP Rocky, MF DOOM, Mike Tyson and Goldie, among others – traces how his work helped define a cultural moment in hip-hop dentistry. An expanded version of the 2021 self-published original, Mouth Full of Golds arrives alongside a forthcoming feature-length documentary to be screened worldwide.
Canadian designer Philippe Malouin found his inspiration for this stovetop coffee maker at a scrapyard near Alessi's Lake Orta HQ – specifically, in the form of a metal screw whose threaded form mirrored the moka's own assembly logic. The resulting die-cast aluminium pot is available in three two-tone colourways (brown, grey, green) plus a full aluminium version with a dark green handle. Plus, it works on both flame and induction.