The most intriguing installation of Hong Kong’s annual art week is outside the blockbuster Art Basel fair on the 18th floor of vertical art complex H Queen’s, where Italian luxury textiles company Loro Piana has unveiled an evanescent cloud-like sculpture made of the brand’s most precious raw material – its finest merino wool, The Gift of Kings.
Finer and softer than cashmere, this rare fibre measures only 12 microns and is available only in tiny quantities, only 3,000 kilos are produced each year. The title was originally given to merino wool in 18th-century Europe, when the Kings of Spain presented merino sheep to the royal families of France, Britain and Holland.
In Hong Kong, it took an entire week to set up the site-specific installation. There are 590 suspended monochromatic panels that immerse visitors in a surreal and highly tactile experience as they push between outer layers of unfinished coarse fibre wool across three chambers which display the material in progressive forms. Visitors follow the journey from its raw state through various treatments into wrist-thick twists, and finally into a sublime fine yarn that will be spun into a crease-resistant limited series of outerwear, sweaters and scarves.
The material is so soft and delicate that Loro Piana artisans have had to develop special techniques to protect the transformation of the inimitable strands into fabric. The installation, on show for the first time, demonstrates the brand’s expertise in sustainable fine fabrics.
‘At Loro Piana the sense of touch is paramount: this experience allows visitors to step inside and feel the Gift of Kings while learning about its journey in pursuit of excellence,’ says Loro Piana CEO Fabio d’Angelantonio. The raw soft fabric has also been used for 16 whimsical swing chairs suspended from the ceiling, the perfect perch from which to enjoy the gallery’s 180-degree views over Hong Kong.
This playful tone continues in a nearby mini-gallery pod adorned with an unusual gift for visitors: pocket-sized squares of Loro Piana fabrics embroidered with the brand’s value statements like ‘Traditionally Innovative’ and ‘Pure Rarity’. Loro Piana traces its roots to the northern Italian town of Quarona in the Piedmont region, where the family were wool merchants in the early 19th century. The company was established in 1924 and became part of the LVMH group in 2013.
The immersive exhibition takes visitors on a journey of this precious fine material
Loro Piana’s The Gift of Kings exhibition features clouds of material
View of Loro Piana’s The Gift of Kings exhibition
Entrance to The Gift of Kings exhibition
INFORMATION
’The Gift of Kings’ is on view until 31 May. For more information, visit the Loro Piana website
-
A first look inside the new Oxford Street Ikea. Spoiler: blue bags and meatballs are includedThe new Oxford Street Ikea opens tomorrow (1 May), giving Londoners access to the Swedish furniture brand right in the heart of the city
-
For the 2025 Eurovision theme art, Swiss design principles get a glow-upLondon-based branding agency NOT Wieden+Kennedy marries graphic design history and exuberance in its theme art for this year's song contest
-
Ten low-pro sneakers that capture footwear’s new streamlined moodSuper-flat soles, narrowed silhouettes: the low-profile sneaker is this season’s defining footwear style. Here, the Wallpaper* style team selects its favourites
-
Don’t miss these five artists at Art Basel Hong KongArt Basel Hong Kong – the glittering intersection of European curatorial expertise and Asia's money-fuelled art swagger – returns for its 2025 edition
-
Switzerland’s best art exhibitions to see in 2025Art fans, here’s your bucket list of the standout exhibitions to see in Switzerland in 2025, exploring compelling themes and diverse media
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been doing this weekA snowy Swiss Alpine sleepover, a design book fest in Milan, and a night with Steve Coogan in London – our editors' out-of-hours adventures this week
-
What to look out for at Art Basel Miami Beach 2024Art Basel Miami Beach returns for its inaugural edition under new director Bridget Finn, running 6-8 December, with 286 international exhibitors and a packed week of parties, pop-up, and special projects
-
Miu Miu’s Women’s Tales film series comes to life for Art Basel ParisIn ‘Tales & Tellers’, interdisciplinary artist Goshka Macuga brings Miu Miu’s Women’s Tales film series for Art Basel Paris to life for the public programme
-
Art Basel returns to Paris: here is everything to see and doArt Basel Paris 2024 (18 - 20 October 2024) returns, opening at the newly renovated Grand Palais
-
‘Happy birthday Louise Parker II’: enter the world of Roe EthridgeRoe Ethridge speaks of his concurrent Gagosian exhibitions, in Gstaad and London, touching on his fugue approach to photography, fridge doors, and his longstanding collaborator Louise Parker
-
Es Devlin and BMW reveal hydrogen-fuelled collaboration at Art Basel 2024Es Devlin and BMW celebrate the potential of hydrogen power in installations unveiled at Art Basel 2024, including a take on the BMW iX5 Hydrogen
