‘Girls run the world’, the poet Beyoncé once said. In the design world, though, female creatives are still sadly underrepresented and under-recognised. Progress is being made, but the design and architecture professions are historically male-dominated – and great work created by women often doesn’t make it to highlight-level at major design events.

Wallpaper* aims to redress that imbalance. In Milan, where our editors are currently on the ground reviewing all that's noteworthy during Design Week 2026, we keep track of the achievements of incredible female creatives in the city – from Salone del Mobile president Maria Porro, injecting new ideas into one of the oldest design institutions in Italy, to trend-setting curator Valentina Ciuffi, whose Alcova has become an example of championing creativity from all corners of the profession, and doyenne of collectible design Nina Yashar (watch our Ground Report interview), whose galleries Nilufar and Nilufar Depot are among the most important places to discover design.

We also have a careful lens on the work that Patricia Urquiola is doing at Cassina, in terms of both innovation and championing an emerging generation of creatives; and the electric energy with which Visionnaire art director Eleonore Cavalli finds the most exciting ways to shake up her company's strong heritage (through unexpected collaborations with the likes of metal stalwart NM3, for example).

Here, we gather a small directory, spotlighting just some of the women whose work has defined this year's Milan Design Week. For many more, follow our coverage on Wallpaper.com, where you’ll find the likes of Federica Biasi and her respectful interpretation of Maddalena De Padova's legacy; the inimitable Bethan Laura Wood, reinterpreting Baccarat's baroque and subverting its rules; and Nao Tamura and her sculptural origami furniture for Porro that leave us marvelling at her creative gestures every time we encounter them.

Nine female creatives to know at Milan Design Week 2026

Faye Toogood

Faye Toogood is the queen of prototyping, and this Milan Design Week has made it even clearer that the British designer is the best when it comes to visualising ideas in compact ways. We are particularly fond of her mini carved butter sofas, a prelude to her collection of seating for Tacchini (aptly called ‘Butter' and comprising different modular elements, or ‘slabs of butter’: a three-seater sofa, an armchair and a storage unit). But her miniature-making prowess was also evident in the perfectly compact ‘Lie Low’ bed, for Poltrona Frau, and the folded paper experiments that represent her ‘Crease’ collection for Meritalia, inspired by flat-pack constructions.

And while the life-size versions of these furniture design concepts are magnificent in their own right, seeing the ideas unfold in small scale (and in such imaginative, expressive ways) always puts a smile on our face.

Linde Freya Tangelder

The work of Belgian designer Linde Freya Tangelder (also known as Destroyers Builders) is a powerful whisper. Over the years, the designer has built an aesthetic identity that is unmistakably hers, based on a version of minimalism that is multi-material and takes modularity to unexpected horizons. At Milan Design Week 2026, Tangelder and Cassina staged a display at 10 Corso Como titled 'Fluid Re-Collection', an immersion into her creative world that includes her furniture, objects and study models placed in conversation with the lighting design she has been creating with the Italian company since 2022.

Ambra Medda with Amy Tai

'I love being part of a city that is changing and evolving at such speed,' said design curator Ambra Medda, who recently moved back to Milan from her longtime base in London. Her new creative space in the city hosts its inaugural exhibition, co-curated with design historian Amy Tai, bringing together the ceramic work of Greek designer Leda Athanasopoulou and textiles by the Chinese artist Yumo Yuan.

Read our interview with Ambra Medda

Elisa Ossino

Elisa Ossino's secret garden with Molteni & C is a much-needed oasis of peace in the middle of Milan ('What a beautiful gift to the city', we overheard someone say on our visit at the beginning of Milan Design Week). Titled 'Responsive Nature', the verdant installation takes over Garden Senato in a way that is both poetic and also a stage to showcase the company's new outdoor collections (including new pieces by Ossino herself). Through five environments, Molteni & C's furniture is set amid tropical plants, architectural ruins overgrown with foliage and water features that make you feel like you have left the city and have stepped into an otherworldly natural paradise.

Kelly Wearstler

Kelly Wearstler, queen of the maximalist interior, made her Milan Design Week debut to launch a new furniture collection designed in tandem with H&M Home. ‘We still had a lot of boundaries,' she told us. ‘Every piece had to be modular, but it pushed us to be more creative.' While all the objects in the collection feel unique, Wearstler was also keen that they work with any environment. ‘I wanted to operate under the ethos of just offering great accessible design.' Launching in 28 markets, the collection includes chairs, tables and lamps, as well as a series of tabletop items, ranging from wooden vases to drinking glasses. Anyone who has visited one of Wearstler's luxury lifestyle-forward Proper hotels will immediately recognise her distinctive aesthetic.

Read our interview with Kelly Wearstler

Marta Sala

Milanese gallerist Marta Sala founded her namesake company, Marta Sala Éditions, in 2015, with the aim of building a platform dedicated to limited-run design collections rooted in architectural rigour and material precision. Eleven years on, that vision has been entirely realised – in no small part thanks to her longstanding collaborations with some of the most exacting figures in design. At Milan Design Week 2026, she launched a new collection with Herzog & de Meuron, making its debut at the inaugural edition of Salone Raritas.

Read our interview with Marta Sala

Natalia Criado

Since founding her eponymous brand in 2018, the Milan-based, Colombia-born designer Natalia Criado has been developing a body of work that reads as both functional object and sculpture. This year at Milan Design Week, Criado worked with Laboratorio Paravicini – the Milanese ceramics brand run by Costanza Paravicini and her three daughters, Benedetta, Margherita and Bona, known for their deftly hand-illustrated ceramics. 'I had been aware of their work for some time, and what drew me in was not only the craftsmanship, but the structure behind it, a family-run studio largely composed of women,' Criado says.

Read our interview with Natalia Criado

Sophie Lou Jacobsen

For the past several months, New York glassware designer Sophie Lou Jacobsen has been spending more and more time in Milan, developing her latest collection inspired by the famed local aperitivo culture. 'In New York, we have happy hour, and in France, there is apéro, but aperitivo is a ritual really ingrained into daily life in Milan,' says the designer, who aptly titled the collection 'Disco Aperitivo', a nod to the 1980s style that still defines many of the city’s historic bars.

Read our interview with Sophie Lou Jacobsen

Lina Ghotmeh

Lebanese-born, Paris-based architect Lina Ghotmehhas built a reputation for immersive, site-responsive work, and was also behind one of the most anticipated installations of Milan Design Week, at Palazzo Litta, transforming the historic building's courtyard into different pockets of calm, culture and conversation during a frenetic week. ‘At a time when the world is bombarded from several standpoints, I wanted a place that cherishes joy and human connection. It is a setting that gently slows people down and allows them to engage with one another and with the place around them,’ she explains.

Read our interview with Lina Ghotmeh

See our guide to what’s on at Milan Design Week 2026 (until 26 April), and follow the adventures of our editors on the ground in our live Milan blog.

Kelly Wearstler, queen of the maximalist interior, will be at Milan Design Week 2026 to launch a new furniture collection designed in tandem with H&M Home. The Scandinavian brand is already renowned for its inspired fashion collaborations, but this is its first collaborative furnishings collection. It's no first for Wearstler, though, who has already notched up retail partnerships with the likes of Farrow & Ball, The Rug Company and Lee Jofa (not to mention her unforgettable dripping disco ball sculptures by Dutch art collective Rotganzen for her gallery initiative).

Partnering with the ‘best in class' across an array of mediums is in her DNA. And H&M Home makes a lot of sense in Wearstler's multi-faceted world. ‘Over the years, H&M has engaged in some incredible partnerships, from Karl Lagerfeld to Maison Margiela,' she says. ‘We wanted to be in that same boat. It was such an exciting opportunity.'

Milan Design Week: Kelly Wearstler and H&M Home at at Palazzo Acerbi

Through her eponymous luxury lifestyle brand, Wearstler has been designing objects since the 1990s, but she was keen to offer a collection at a more affordable price point, while still retaining quality and craftsmanship. Launching in 28 markets, the collection includes chairs, tables and lamps, as well as a series of tabletop items, ranging from wooden vases to drinking glasses. Anyone who has visited one of Weastler's luxury lifestyle-forward Proper hotels will immediately recognise her distinctive aesthetic.

‘We still had a lot of boundaries,' she says. ‘Every piece had to be modular, but it pushed us to be more creative.' While all the objects in the collection feel unique, Wearstler was also keen that they work with any environment. ‘I wanted to operate under the ethos of just offering great accessible design.'

To mark this double-debut moment, an installation, produced by Studio Boum, will be unveiled at Palazzo Acerbi, a 17th-century baroque palace that has long been closed to the public. Wearstler's excitement is palpable. ‘I wanted to make sure it was some place that could help tell the story of the collection. It had an emotional feeling for me, and it checked all the boxes.'

The palazzo, with its soaring columns and opulent frescoes, offers a striking juxtaposition with the collection's bold contemporary aesthetic. Building on concepts of routine, habit and modular synergy, the installation will include everyday objects, such as candlesticks, board games and clothing racks, which will form part of an immersive journey through the senses. ‘These objects are part of your daily ritual, and the way they all come together with texture and material, creates this beautiful tension,' says Wearstler. Materials were sourced from all over the world, using a mix of local workshops. ‘At my studio, there's always an attention to material, and we like to have a different hand at everything we do. When we design a hotel, we make sure we work with different workshops for every piece in a room.' Lately, India has proved to be a big draw for Wearstler, in particular, Jaipur and Mumbai. ‘I visited many workshops there and was just so inspired by that country – the culture, the people, the creative talent. You can just feel the energy.'

While her core philosophy has always been about creating beauty, there is a contrasting edge in her projects and personal style. ‘I would say my style is a free-spirited chameleon because every project is different, and every project is about the story. Whether it's a brand that we're designing for or a residential project for a family, we're still telling a love story.'

Kelly Wearstler H&M Home will be on show from 21-26 April at Palazzo Acerbi, Corso di Porta Romana 3, Milan. The full collection will launch in stores and online in September

American interior designer, entrepreneur and author Kelly Wearstler has launched a bold new venture: Side Hustle, a curatorial platform that reimagines the possibilities of creative collaboration. While the term ‘cross-disciplinary’ has become a trope in the design world, Side Hustle takes the concept to a new level – bridging sculpture, painting, craft, jewellery, music, performance, film, video, culinary culture, automotive design, and even sport.

Side Hustle proposes a framework where disciplines collide and evolve, emphasising experimentation and exchange. But what does this actually look like?

The platform will operate in both digital and physical spaces. Online, it will serve as a living archive, chronicling exhibitions, offering behind-the-scenes insight, and delving into conceptual threads. Physically, Side Hustle will debut at Wearstler’s Beverly Hills residence before expanding to other cities and venues worldwide.

‘My studio practice has long integrated work from across such a wide range of creative disciplines, it is this exploration that led to the birth of Side Hustle – a space for ideas to unfold beyond the logic of client or commission,’ says Wearstler, adding that she hopes to ‘contribute to the ongoing evolution of design as a cultural practice’.

The debut exhibition, Again, Differently, opens October 16 2025 in the Pool House at Wearstler’s Beverly Hills home – a space once used by the Broccoli family for private James Bond screenings, now reimagined as a gallery. The show features an international roster of artists, including Dozie Kanu (Portugal), Joana Schneider (Netherlands), Mariko Makino (United States), Nynke Koster (Netherlands), Sam Klemick (United States) and Sonia Gomes (Brazil). Working with salvaged textiles, architectural remnants and laced garments, the artists transform the familiar into sculptural works and performances.

Meanwhile, the digital platform will extend access to global audiences, offering insights into the artists’ processes and other enhancements to Again, Differently. These include an original essay by gallerist and cultural impresario Jeffrey Deitch, and a soundtrack from Grammy-nominated producer and DJ Kenny Beats. Rather than functioning as a secondary experience, the online component is complementary, showcasing how digital tools can deepen engagement with physical design.

Side Hustle defies any fixed aesthetic or agenda. It’s designed as a flexible, evolving platform – an open invitation for artists and designers to share ideas, push limits and blur boundaries. As such, it stands out as one of the more exciting launches on our radar, setting a blueprint for interdisciplinary collaboration and proving that it’s more than the sum of its parts.

‘Again, Differently’ debuts online on October 16 2025, with public viewings by appointment through the site beginning October 17

sidehustlegallery.com

The Wallpaper* USA 400 celebrates Creative America in all its dazzling breadth and diversity. Our snapshot of the people who are shaping the country’s creative landscape in 2025 spans community builders, tastemakers, business leaders and more. It’s all a testament to the abundance of stellar talent that’s defining the discourse here in the United States – and the world more broadly.

Here are the names to know in America now.

Wallpaper* USA 400: a guide to Creative America in 2025

Creatives working in fashion, architecture, visual arts and more: the rising stars getting us excited for the future.

ADAM CHARLAP HYMAN AND ANDRE HERRERO
Principals, Charlap Hyman & Herrero

AIDEN BOWMAN AND JOSH METERSKY
Self-taught designers and founders of lighting studio Trueing, which takes inspiration from their art history and engineering backgrounds

ASTRAEUS CLARKE
Furniture and lighting designers, based in Brooklyn

AUGUSTA HOFFMAN
Interior designer

CASEY KENYON
Interior designer

CATHERINE HOLSTEIN
Founder of womenswear label Khaite, known for its balance of masculinity and femininity, strength and softness, structure and fluidity

CHASE HALL
Artist who applies coffee to cotton canvas (both inextricably linked to Africa and slavery) to explore ‘the impossible absolute of biracial identity’

CHRIS MAGGIO
Photographer, his work playfully reinvents the genre of Americana and subverts internet culture

CHRIS WOLSTON
Artist and designer who has collaborated with with the likes of Fendi, Phillip Lim and Dior

DANIEL PATRICK GILES
Founder of Perfumehead, an olfactory label that challenges traditional perceptions of fragrance

DAVID FARRUGIA
Founder, Uniform Object

DEAN LEVIN
Artist-designer and architect

DEVIN WILDE
Ceramic artist creating geometric works in clay

DONNI DAVY
Make-up artist, founder Half Magic

ENY LEE PARKER
Ceramic designer and artist

ETHAN HIDALGO
Furniture designer, founder of Studio Hidalgo

FREDERICK TANG
The founder of the eponymous architecture studio creates contemporary chic that’s not afraid of colour

HEATH WAGONER
Designer

IDO YOSHIMOTO
Artist and arborist whose work focuses on forms and objects from the natural world

ISABEL ROWER
Ceramic artist

JAYE KIM
Ceramic Artist

JEAN AND OLIVER PELLE
Founders of design studio Pelle, which merges art and engineering to create expressive lighting, furniture and design objects

JEREMY ANDERSON
Visionary ceramic artist, taking the material to unexplored creative expressions

JOHN MAY & ZEINA KOREITEM
Founders of architecture studio Millions

JOMO TARIKU
Ethiopian-American artist and industrial designer defining a new design language of modern African-themed furniture (featured in the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever movie set)

KATIE STOUT
Artist and designer who creates furniture and objects that use traditional craft techniques and materials, but which are shaped by an urge to subvert utilitarian forms with unexpected results

LEAH RING
Designer/founder of Another Human

LIAM LEE
Creates biophilic furniture using colour-saturated felt

MARQUEL RASHAAD WILLIAMS
Designer

MARTINE GUTIERREZ
Artist and performer

MAX WORRELL AND JEJON YEUNG
Founders of architecture studio Worrell Yeung, creating architecture that looks effortless and transforms the lives of its users (see Worrell Yeung’s refresh of a Charles Gwathmey home)

MILES GREENBERG
Performance artist

MINJAE KIM
Korean-born designer whose work explores ideas of identity and belonging (Kim has previously shown alongside his artist mother, at Matter Projects)

MISHA KAHN
Blurs boundaries between sculpture and design with a wildly imaginative approach (as seen in our interview ahead of Kahn’s 2020 Friedman Benda show)

NATALIE SHOOK
Designer

NICHOLAS OBEID
Furniture and lighting designer

NOAM DVIR AND DANIEL RAUCHWERGER
Partners, BOND

NOEL HERNANDEZ & VIKTORIA BARBO
Co-Founders, Ollin

OLALEKAN JEYIFOUS
Nigerian-born, New York-based visual artist and designer whose work reimagines social spaces that examine the relationships between architecture, community and the environment

PETER B STAPLES
Founder of lighting design studio Blue Green Works, known for its sensual yet masculine approach to form

RIFF STUDIO
Thoughtful, young, research-based architecture and design studio

RYAN LEIDNER
Founder of young and dynamic eponymous architecture office with a flair for creating residential spaces that commune with nature

RYAN TWARDZIK
Founder and designer of Unform Studio

SAM KLEMICK
Founder of Studio Sam Klemick, furniture design practice that utilises salvaged materials and deadstock/vintage textiles

SARAH BURNS
Furniture Designer and founder of Old Jewelry Store in New York City

SOPHIE LOU JACOBSEN
French-American designer whose focus is on simple objects and rituals that elevate the user experience

STUDIO S II
Erica Sellers & Jeremy Silberberg’s Brooklyn studio crafting interiors, furniture and lighting

TASKA CLEVELAND
Interior designer

UTHARAA ZACHARIAS AND PALAASH CHAUDHARY
Indian-born founders of studio Soft-Geometry

ZACK NESTEL-PATT
Founder, Ah Um Design Studio

Entrepreneurs and CEOs at the helm of the country’s leading design companies, from globally renowned furniture giants to small brands making waves in the design world.

BEN SOLEIMANI
Founder, Ben Soleimani

BEN WATSON
Chief creative officer, MillerKnoll

DAVID CALLIGEROS
Founder, Remains Lighting Company

GABRIEL HENDIFAR
Artistic director and CEO, Apparatus

GARY FRIEDMAN
CEO and chairman, RH

GREGG BUCHBINDER
Owner and CEO, Emeco

HOLLY HUNT
Founder, House of Hunt

JANICE FELDMAN
Founder, Janus et Cie

JERRY HELLING
President and creative director, Bernhardt Design

JON SHERMAN
Founder, Flavor Paper

LINDSEY ADELMAN
Founder, Lindsey Adelman Studio

NARGIS AND NASIR KASSAMALI
Founders, Luminaire

NICK AND RACHEL COPE
Co-Founders, Calico Wallpaper

SIAMAK HAKAKIAN
Partner, DDC

TONY MANZARI
President, Edelman, Knoll Textiles and Maharam

TYLER HAYS
Founder, BDDW

The creatives who have infiltrated the world of show business: architects and designers contributing to the aesthetics of popular culture, from cinema and theatre to museums.

DAVID ROCKWELL
Architect and designer, creator of sets for Oscars ceremonies and Broadway shows

FRANK OCEAN
Artist, founder of Homer

HERON PRESTON
Artist, fashion designer, DJ

RAMISHA SATTAR
Chappell Roan's creative director

TERRENCE O'CONNOR
Photographer and creative director

VICTORIA BRYNNER
Founder, Stardust Brands

WILLO PERRON
Canada-born designer known for his collaborations with Rihanna

Hailing from the realms of music and cinema, these stars’ creative excellence and entrepreneurship capably stretches to jewellery, fashion, art and more.

COLE ESCOLA
Comedian, actor and playwright

DONALD GLOVER
Actor, comedian, rapper, singer, writer, director, and producer known as Childish Gambino

MARY-KATE AND ASHLEY OLSEN
Founders of fashion label The Row

MEGAN STALTER
Comedian and actor

PALOMA ELSESSER
Model

PHARRELL WILLIAMS
Record producer, rapper, singer, with fashion and design collaborations with Louis Vuitton, Moncler, Adidas and Pentatonic

RYAN MURPHY
Television writer, director, producer, design enthusiast, owner of many architectural gems

SETH ROGEN
Actor, ceramicist, co-founder of cannabis lifestyle brand Houseplant

SOFIA COPPOLA
Film director and screenwriter, serial creative collaborator, including a collection with knitwear brand Barrie and a range of lip balms with Augustinus Bader

TYLER THE CREATOR
Rapper, singer, record producer, and fashion designer

The curators preserving and promoting creative culture, from heirs enthusiastically promoting the family’s artistic legacy to new-generation curators of the country’s leading institutions.

ALEISHALL GIRARD MAXON AND KORI GIRARD
Co-directors, Girard Studio

ALEXANDER MAY
Creative consultant and curator, founder of Sized

ALEXANDRA CUNNINGHAM CAMERON
Curator of contemporary design, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

AMANDA HUNT
Head of Public Engagement, Walker Art Center

ANDREA GLIMCHER
Art advisor

ANDREW BOLTON
Head curator, Anna Wintour Costume Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

ANTWAUN SARGENT
Director, Gagosian New York

BEATRICE GALILEE
Co-founder and executive director, The World Around

CARLOS VALLADARES
Filmmaker and critic

EAMES DEMETRIOS
Board chairman, Charles & Ray Eames Foundation

FLORENCIA RODRIGUEZ
Curator, Chicago Architecture Biennal

HOLLAND DENVIR
Founder of LA Design Weekend

JEFFREY DEITCH
Art dealer and curator

JOE SHEFTEL
Art advisor

JOHN MCILWEE
Architectural preservationist; founder, J McILwee & Associates, Inc

JONATHAN OLIVARES
SVP of design, Knoll

MARIAH NIELSON
Director, JB Blunk Estate and Blunk Space

NICOLA LEES
CEO and artistic director, Aspen Art Museum

PAOLA ANTONELLI
Senior curator of architecture and design, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, and a Wallpaper* October 2020 Guest Editor

RICHARD VILLANI
Creative director, Tom of Finland Foundation

SONYA TAMADDON
Curator

SUZANNE DEMISCH
Gallerist

THELMA GOLDEN
Ford Foundation director and chief curator, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York

WAVA CARPENTER AND ANNA CARNICK
Co-founders of Anava Projects, a creative agency driven by a strong belief that good design can and should make a positive social impact

The ‘no introduction needed’ of creative America: the artists, architects and designers who have helped shape the landscape.

ANNABELLE SELLDORF
Founder of Selldorf Architects

ELIZABETH DILLER AND CHARLES RENFRO
Architects, partners at Diller Scofidio + Renfro

FRANK GEHRY
Architect

FRITZ HAEG
Artist, owner of Salmon Creek Farm

INEZ & VINOODH
Photographers, behind Wallpaper’s portfolio of 50 of America's top creatives driving the current discourse on American culture and its dynamic evolution

JASPER JOHNS
Artist

JENNY HOLZER
Artist

JIM OLSON AND TOM KUNDIG
Founders of architecture firm Olson Kundig

JOHN WATERS
Filmmaker, writer, actor, artist

JOHNNY ROZSA
Photographer and artist

JUDY CHICAGO
Artist, feminist icon

JULIE BARGMANN
Landscape architect, educator, founder of DIRT (Dump It Right There)

KEN LEWIS
Managing Partner, SOM

MARC JACOBS
Fashion designer

MARILYN MINTER
Artist

MURRAY MOSS
Founder of design gallery Moss and design consultancy Moss Bureau

NICK CAVE
Artist known for his fantastical Soundsuits and works that create space for the marginalised

PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON
Filmmaker

RALPH LAUREN
Fashion designer

RALPH PUCCI
Founder of Ralph Pucci

RICK OWENS
Fashion designer

ROBIN STANDEFER AND STEPHEN ALESCH
Founders of interior design studio Roman and Williams

SHEILA BRIDGES
Interior designer, founder of Sheila Bridges Design Inc

SHOHEI SHIGEMATSU
Partner, OMA New York

SONIA ERAM
Owner, Mameg

STEVEN HOLL
Architect

THOM BROWNE
Fashion designer, founder of Thom Browne

THOM MAYNE
Architect, founder of Morphosis

TOD WILLIAMS AND BILLIE TSIEN
Architects

TOM FORD
Fashion designer

TORY BURCH
Fashion designer

Setting the creative agenda, from interior design and architecture to fashion and jewellery, these are the influencers behind some of the country’s most noteworthy projects, from buildings to jewellery.

ADA TOLLA AND GIUSEPPE LIGNANO
Founders of architecture studio Lot-Ek, whose client list includes the Guggenheim and Google

ADAM SILVERMAN
Sculptor

ALEX PROBA
Founder, Studio Proba

ALEXANDRA AND MICHAEL MISCZYNSKI
Founders of interior design studio Atelier

ALEXIS TOMPKINS AND LEANN CONQUER
Partners, Chroma

ANDRE MELLONE
Founder of Studio Mellone, whose work includes interiors for the likes of Jason Wu and Thom Browne

ANNA KARLIN
Designer

ATHENA CALDERONE
Founder, EyeSwoon and Studio Athena Calderone

BEN MEDANSKY
Ceramic artist

BENJAMIN BLOOMSTEIN AND AARON AUJLA
Artists, designers, founders of design studio Green River Project, whose work includes meticulously crafted furniture and interiors for fashion label Bode

BRETT WOODS AND JOSEPH DANGARAN
Founders of architecture firm Woods + Dangaran and devotees of midcentury modernism (their Desert Palisades house won Best Private House in the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2023)

BRIAN SAWYER AND JOHN BERSON
Founders of interdisciplinary firm Sawyer Berson

BRIGETTE ROMANEK
Interior designer

BROOKS WALKER
Principal, Walker Warner Architects

CATHERINE BAILEY & ROBIN PETRAVIC
Owners of Heath Ceramics, the tableware and tile company

CHARLIE FERRER
Interior designer

CHRISTIE WARD AND STAVER GRAY
Founders, Ward & Gray

CHRISTINE & JOHN GACHOT
Interior designers behind projects such as Jac's on Bond and Pebble Bar in New York, and high-profile residential projects, like this stunning Montana retreat.

CLIVE LONSTEIN
Interior designer

COLIN KING
Stylist, Artistic Director at Beni Rugs

CRAIG BASSAM AND SCOTT FELLOWS
Founders of lifestyle brand Bassam Fellows

DAVID BERS
Architect

DAVID BUCOVY
Architect

DAVID CAFIERO
Interior designer

DAVID SETH MOLTZ AND KAVI AHUJA MOLTZ
Founders, DS & Durga

DAVID, SUZIE AND RACHEL LUCAS
Co-founders, Lucas Design

DENISE WILLIAMSON
Founder, 180 the Store

DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN
Photographer

DYLAN DAVIS & JEAN LEE
Designers, founders L&G Studio

ELENI PETALOTI AND LEONIDAS TRAMPOUKIS
Founders of design studio Objects of Common Interest (former Wallpaper* Design Awards winners and judges)

ELIZABETH ROBERTS
Architect

ELLIOTT BARNES
Interior designer who honed his craft with Andrée Putman before setting up on his own

ENRICO BONETTI AND DOMINIC KOZERSKI
Co-Founders, Bonetti/Kozerski Architecture

ERIC HOFFMAN
Founder of Hoffman Creative, creating designs for Pamela Shamshiri, Steven Volpe and more

FERNANDA DOVIGI
Interior designer, founder FMD Design

FERNANDO SANTANGELO
Uruguayan-born, New York-based designer; contributed to the design of NYC’s Nine Orchard hotel

GABRIEL ABRAHAM
Founder, Atelier de Troupe

GABRIELLE SHELTON
Sculptor and designer, co-founder of Shelton Studios metal fabrication studio

GIANCARLO VALLE & JANE KELTNER DE VALLE
Founders Studio Valle de Valle

HARRY NURIEV
Founder of Crosby Studios, creating immersive design installations

HUMBERTO LEON
Fashion designer and restaurateur

INI ARCHIBONG
American-Nigerian designer whose furniture and lighting work is guided by heritage and spirituality

JACQUELINE AND DAMIEN HARRISON
Founders of landscape design studio Harrison Green

JAMES CHERRY
Sculptor, lighting designer

JANE MAYLE
Fashion designer, founder of Maison Mayle

JOHN DERIAN
Designer, founder of Decoupage

JOHN SHARP
Landscape designer

JONATHAN CROSS
Ceramicist whose work is created using ancient wood-firing techniques

KELLEY PERUMBETI & MICHAEL YARINSKY
Founders of Office of Tangible Space

KELLY BEHUN
Interior designer behind California home of Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz

KELLY WEARSTLER
Interior designer for the hotel industry, residential, commercial, retail and hospitality spaces

KIMBERLY VON KOONTZ
Landscape designer

KULAPAT YANTRASAST
Founder and creative director of Why Architects, the go-to design studio for museums

LEO MARMOL AND RON RADZINER
Founders of architecture firm Marmol Radziner

LEONG LEONG
Architect brothers Dominic and Chris Leong

LISA EISNER
Photographer-turned-jewellery designer

LITTLE WING LEE
Interior designer, founder of Studio & Projects

LUCIEN REES ROBERTS
Interior and landscape designer

MALLERY ROBERTS MORGAN
Interior designer

MATT MURPHY
Designer

MATTHEW FISHER
Stone artist

MATTHEW LEVERONE
Interior designer

MICHAEL MALTZAN
Architect whose work spans everything from housing for the homeless to glitzy museums

MIRANDA BROOKS
Landscape designer

NANCY PEARCE
Designer

NICOLE HOLLIS
Interior designer behind Hawaii’s Kailua-Kona resort

OLIVER HASLEGRAVE
Founder of interior architecture and design firm Home Studios

OLIVER M FURTH
Interior designer

PALI AND JEJO CORNELSEN
Designers

PAMELA SHAMSHIRI
Founder of Studio Shamshiri, has designed homes for musician Paul McCartney and actor Anne Hathaway, and was a Wallpaper* Design Awards 2023 judge

PETER MARINO
Interior designer for high-end fashion boutiques

RAFAEL DE CÁRDENAS
Designer who has concocted visions of modern elegance for clients such as Cartier, Nike and Glossier

ROBERT HIGHSMITH, RYAN MAHONEY AND STEFANIE BRECHBUEHLER
Founders of design studio Workstead

ROBERT STILIN
Interior designer who mixes contemporary architecture with textured materials and vintage furniture

ROGAN GREGORY
Designer of sculptural pieces, represented by R & Company

ROMAN ALONSO AND STEVEN JOHANKNECHT
Founders of multidisciplinary studio Commune Design

RUBEN CALDWELL, JOU-YIE CHOU AND LEIGH SALEM
Founders of interior design studio Post Company, whose projects include Catskills wellness resort Inness and New York restaurant Raf’s

SANDRA NUNNERLEY
Interior designer

SARAH ZAMES AND COLIN STIEF
Founders, General Assembly Studio

SCOTT NEWLIN
Designer

SEAN ANDERSON
Interior designer

SHARON JOHNSTON AND MARK LEE
Founders of architecture firm Johnston Marklee

SONIA BOYAJIAN
Jewellery designer

STEFAN BECKMAN
The fashion industry’s favourite set designer

STEPHANIE BEAMER, CRYSTAL ELLIS AND HILLARY PETRIE
Founders of furniture design studio Egg Collective

STEPHEN BURKS MAN MADE
A global practice uniting craft, community and industry through its hands-on workshop-based approach while always advocating for greater diversity in design

STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON
Photographer

STEVEN HARRIS
Architect

STEVEN VOLPE
Founder of Studio Volpe, whose work includes elegant residences from Manhattan to LA, as well as Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Mrkt in San Francisco

SUCHI REDDY
Founder of architecture and design firm Reddymade

TED MUEHLING
Industrial designer who creates jewellery and decorative objects inspired by organic forms

TESSA WATSON
Creative director and stylist

THOMAS WRIGHT AND JOSEPH FRATESI
Founders of multidisciplinary design and manufacturing firm Atlas Industries

TODD NICKEY AND AMY KEHOE
Co-Founders, Nickey Kehoe

VANESSA ALEXANDER
Founder, Alexander Design

VICTORIA SAMBUNARIS
Landscape photographer

VICTORIA SASS
Interior Designer; Design Director, Prospect Refuge

VIRGINIA SIN
Founder, SIN ceramics

Leaders of design research, start-uppers and business leaders whose creative brilliance is paired with a strong focus on technology and sustainability.

ANDREW KUDLESS
Principal, Matsys Design

BRADLEY BOWERS
Designer using technology and advanced material research to create furniture, lighting and objects

GERMANE BARNES
Architect researching architecture’s social and political influence

GIORGIA LUPI
Data designer, Pentagram partner

JEANNE GANG
Architect, founding partner of Studio Gang, behind the American Museum of Natural History extension

JONY IVE
Former chief design officer at Apple, founder of design studio LoveFrom

JULIA WATSON
Designer, activist, academic, leading expert of Lo–TEK (nature-based technologies for climate resilience)

KATE ORFF
Founder of landscape architecture and urban design practice Scape

MARIE VERONIQUE
Beauty entrepreneur

RJ SCARINGE
Founder and CEO of electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian

TYLER HOBBS
Generative artist, creative coder, painter

VANESSA BARBONI HALLIK
Founder, Co-CEO, and Executive Chair of sustainable fashion brand Another Tomorrow

YVES BEHAR
Founder and principal designer of Fuseproject, a brand development firm working across industrial design, transport and technology

Owners of small boutique hotels and behemoths whose properties stretch beyond the US: the names to know in American hospitality today.

ANDRÉ BALAZS
Properties include Chateau Marmont in LA, The Chiltern Firehouse in London and Sunset Beach on Shelter Island

ARI S HECKMAN
CEO and Co-Founder, Ash

BARRY STERNLICHT
Chairman of Starwood Hotels, which has 1 Hotels, Baccarat and Treehouse Hotels in its portfolio

BRAD KORZEN
Founder and CEO, The Kor Group and Proper Hotels

BRAD WILSON
Managing Partner, Ace Hotel Group

HOMI VAZIFDAR
Founder of Canyon Equity, whose portfolio includes Amangiri and Six Senses Costa Rica

IAN SCHRAGER
Properties include Public New York, Edition hotels in New York and Miami

LIZ LAMBERT
McGuire Moorman Lambert Hospitality (Partner); Lambert McGuire Design (Partner); and Bunkhouse (Founder)

NADIM ASHI
Properties include the Four Seasons at The Surf Club in Florida

Musicians, filmmakers and sound artists, multidisciplinary creatives telling stories and working beyond objects and places.

CHRISTINE SUN KIM
Deaf sound artist working predominantly in drawing, performance and video, using musical notation, written language, American Sign Language, and the body

DAVID BYRNE
Musician, artist and filmmaker

DOECHII
Rapper and singer

ERYKAH BADU
Singer, songwriter, record producer, actor

HONEY DIJON
DJ and Producer

KIM GORDON
Visual artist, bassist, guitarist, songwriter, vocalist, now as a solo artist and formerly for alternative rock band Sonic Youth.

LORI SCACCO
Musician and composer

MOSES SUMNEY
Musician

PATTI SMITH
Singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author

SOLANGE
Musician; Founder, Saint Heron

ST. VINCENT
Grammy award winning artist, musician, songwriter with signature guitar line

STEVE LACY
Musician

SWIZZ BEATZ
Producer and collector

Personalities working in a variety of fields, using art and design as a tool to raise awareness and amplify the voices of the oppressed.

ADAM ELI
Activist

ALEXIS BITTAR
Jewellery designer, filmmaker

CATHERINE OPIE
Fine-art photographer, educator

CHEROKEE JACK
Model, Indigenous activist

DANIEL CHEW, TEN IZU, KIRSTEN KILPONEN AND TIN NGUYEN
Members of Concept Foreign Garments New York (CFGNY), a fashion and art collective exploring what it means to be ‘vaguely Asian’

DEANNA VAN BUREN
Co-founder and design director of nonprofit architecture and real estate development firm Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, working to end mass incarceration through place-based solutions

DERRICK ADAMS
Visual and performance artist, curator, work focuses on themes of Black identity and culture

EMILY BARKER
Multidisciplinary artist, activist, work focuses on topics relating to disability, discrimination and capitalism

INDYA MOORE
Actor, model and social activist

JOSH KLINE
Artist, curator, explores how emergent technologies are changing our lives

LEILAH BABIRYE
NYC-based sculptor Babirye uses her work to respond to the anti-homosexuality legislation in her home country, Uganda

MICKALENE THOMAS
Visual artist, studies the Black female body as a vehicle of power, eroticism, agency and inspiration

NAN GOLDIN
Photographer, activist

NANCY KRICORIAN
Writer, humanitarian and activist

QUANNAH ROSE CHASINGHORSE-POTTS
Model, Indigenous activist

ROBERTO LUGO
Potter and activist

DEVONN FRANCIS
Queer first-generation Jamaican-American artist exploring his heritage and culture through art and food

Artists, collectives and restaurateurs who have brought global flavours to the US, using food as a creative medium to connect people.

DONNA LENNARD
Restaurateur

IGNACIO MATTOS
Founder/chef of Mattos Hospitality, comprising restaurants Estela, Altro Paradiso and Lodi

JON GRAY
CEO and co-founder of Ghetto Gastro, culinary collective from the South Bronx, and a Wallpaper* Design Awards 2022 judge

JORDAN KAHN
Chef and creative director, with a penchant for expressionist desserts, and three Culver City restaurants (Destroyer, Meteora and Vespertine) offering deliciously avant-garde dining experiences

KEITH MCNALLY
Restaurateur, owner of several New York restaurants including Balthazar

KWAME ONWUACHI
James Beard award-winning chef

LAILA GOHAR
Artist working with food as a creative medium

RITA SODI AND JODY WILLIAMS
Founders/chefs of The Commerce Inn

SEAN SHERMAN
Chef

SIMON KIM
Restaurateur, owner of COTE Korean Steakhouse and COQODAQ

Designers and artists whose practice has become the basis for a larger scope, serving local networks and connecting people.

ALEX SCHATZBERG
Yoga instructor and entrepreneur

ANN STEPHENSON
Poet

BEN GREENE
Speaker and inclusion consultant

CATOR SPARKS
Life coach

DARRELL THORNE
Performance artist

DAVID GODSHALL
Co-Founder, Terremoto

ELIZABETH BAUDOUIN AND NATALIE SHIRINIAN
Filmmakers, founders of Not All Films and NES Creative

ERIN BESLER
Co-founder, Besler & Sons

JAY EZRA
Founder, Del Vaz Projects

JENNY NGUYEN
Founder, Hello Human

JONATHAN LYNDON CHASE
Artist

KAZEM NADERI
Founder, NAD Projects Inc.

LAUREN HALSEY
Artist, employs architecture and installation art to reveal the realities of urban neighbourhoods

MALI AND ALAN BACON
Founders, Butter art fair

MAXWELL L ANDERSON
President, Souls Grow Deep

MICHAEL FORD
Architect; Founder, Hip Hop x Design

MICHAEL K CHEN
Architect

NORMAN TEAGUE
Designer, maker, educator, focuses on connecting with local communities

PETER DO
Fashion designer, brand is rooted in community and dedicated to supporting New York’s garment district

RAUL LOPEZ
Founder of fashion brand Luar

RICK LOWE
Artist, champions people and communities through social practice-based art projects

RITESH GUPTA
Founder of Useful School, a virtual learning platform that puts people of colour front and centre

ROB AQUINO
Community builder and nightlife producer

SARA ZEWDE
Founding principal of design firm Studio Zewde, which focuses on landscape architecture, urbanism and public art

SEAN YASHAR
Founder, The Culture Creative

SHANE DAVIS
Co-founder and creative director of Public Records, a multi-faceted music, social and exhibition space for the community, and co-founder of new design studio for worldwide hospitality/residential projects, Public Service

SHEENA ZADEH-DALY
Founder of beauty brand Kosas, which offers inclusive shades in its make-up ranges

TAMARA HOUSTON
Author, entertainment producer, founder of heritage development enterprise Icon Mann, managing partner of a mobile design and educational installation, the Pavilion of the African Diaspora (PoAD), which she curated alongside Ini Archibong

WILLY CHAVARRIA
Fashion designer, explores and amplifies the Latino voice

Gallerists and collectors putting great design under the spotlight, bringing historical design, contemporary makers and emerging talent to the world.

ADAM BLACKMAN AND DAVID CRUZ
Founders of Blackman Cruz

ALEX TIEGHI-WALKER
Founder of Tiwa Select, a curatorial platform dedicated to craft and self-taught makers, with a New York gallery space (across the pond, Tieghi-Walker will curate the 2025 Brompton Design District in London this September)

AMAURI AGUIAR & BRYAN YOUNG
Founders of Verso

BENJAMIN CRITTON AND HEIDI KORSAVONG
Founders of gallery Marta, which champions emerging creatives from a diverse background

BENOIST DRUT
Head of design gallery Maison Gerard, which specialises in fine French art deco furniture

BIANCA CHEN & JOEL CHEN
Art and design curator (Bianca), and her antiques dealer father (Joel), who founded JF Chen Antiques

CHARLES CONSTANTINE AND CHRIS HELD
Co-founders, Dudd Haus

CLAIRE WARNER AND SAM VINZ
Co-Founders, Volume Gallery Chicago

DAVID ALHADEFF
Founder of Casa Perfect and The Future Perfect

DEIRDRE MALONEY AND MINYA QUIRK
Co-Founders, Shoppe Object and Afternoon Light

DOBRINKA SALZMAN
Gallerist

ED BE AND JARED BLAKE
Co-Founders, Lichen NYC, a design incubator and store

EMMA SCULLY
Founder of Emma Scully Gallery, which promotes applied arts through a curated exhibition programme

MARC BENDA & JENNIFER OLSHIN
Co-founders, Friedman Benda

GLENN LAWSON AND GRANT FENNING
Co-Founders, Lawson-Fenning

JEAN LIN
Founder, Colony

JEANNE GREENBERG ROHATYN
Founder of Salon 94 Design

JOHN RADTKE
Owner, Somewhere Someplace

KIM HOSTLER AND JULIET BURROWS
Founders of gallery Hostler Burrows

LIN AND MAGDALENA TYRPIEN
Co-Founders, Lyle Gallery

MASON VINCENT AND JACK REDPATH
Founders, Darling Studios

PAUL DONZELLA
Furniture dealer

REYES AND LILLIAN HARDY
Co-founders, Landdd

RODMAN PRIMACK AND RUDY F. WEISSENBERG
Co-founders of design gallery Ago Projects

STEPHEN MARKOS
Superhouse

TARIQ DIXON
Co-Founder, TRNK

YANCEY RICHARDSON
Gallerist

ZESTY MEYERS AND EVAN SNYDERMAN
Founders of R & Company, champions of collectible design from contemporary and modern names

The names defining American fashion right now, both on and off the runway.

ANN CARUSO
Fashion brand advisor and consultant

BRANDON MAXWELL
Fashion designer

CHRISTOPHER JOHN ROGERS
Fashion designer behind Vice President Kamala Harris’ inauguration outfit

DYLAN CAO AND JIN KAY
Founders of fashion brand Commission, inspired by memories of their mothers when they were women at work in Vietnam and Korea

EMILY BODE
Founder of fashion brand Bode, creating handcrafted clothing cut from antique fabrics, Victorian quilts, grain sacks and bed linens

FERNANDO GARCIA AND LAURA KIM
Creative Directors, Oscar de la Renta; Co-Founders, Monse

FRANCES HOWIE
Creative director, Fforme

HENRY ZANKOV
Fashion designer

JACK MCCOLLOUGH AND LAZARO HERNANDEZ
Creative Directors, Loewe

JOSEPH ALTUZARRA
Fashion designer

MICHAEL KORS
Fashion Designer

MICHAEL RIDER
Creative director, Celine

RACHEL SCOTT
Founder, Diotima

STUART VEVERS
Creative director, Coach

VERONICA LEONI
Creative director, Calvin Klein Collection

When these groundbreaking talents have a show, seek it out.

ADAM PUTNAM
Multimedia artist whose work puts the human body in dialogue with the spaces we inhabit

AMBERA WELLMANN
Artist

AMY SHERALD
Painter

ANNIE SCHLECHTER
Photographer

CINDY JI HYE KIM
Artist

CLARE CRESPO
Artist

DAHLIA ELSAYED
Artist

DOUG AITKEN
Artist

DYANI WHITE HAWK
Award-winning Native American artist

FIN SIMONETTI
Artist

IVANA BAŠIĆ
Artist

JACK PIERSON
Photographer and artist

JASON SCHMIDT
Photographer

JEFFREY GIBSON
Artist. His US Pavilion at the 60th Venice Art Biennale was the country’s first solo presentation by an Indigenous artist at the event

JULIAN WATTS
Artist, woodworker

LOUISE BONNET
Painter whose large-scale works in oil touch on multiple themes ranging from sex and beauty to tension and humour

MAMALI SHAFAHI
Artist

MARIA MOYER
Artist

MATTHEW PLACEK
Photographer and film director

PIA RIVEROLA
Photographer and artist

RACHEL ROSSIN
Artist

RASHID JOHNSON
Artist

RICHARD STAPLETON
Photographer

ROKSANA PIROUZMAND
Artist

SASHA MASLOV
Ukrainian-American portrait and documentary photographer

SHUO HAO
Artist

SHUYI CAO
Artist

SIMONE LEIGH
Multi-media artist from Chicago

THOMAS LOOF
Photographer

WENDY RED STAR
Apsáalooke contemporary multimedia artist

Along with the great and good of the design world, American designer Kelly Wearstler was in Miami last week where she unveiled NUDO 2.0, a sinuous stone furniture collection with natural stone brand ARCA. Realised in pastel-hued onyx, the new collection is an expansion of Wearstler's original 2022 marble furniture series with the US brand, which explored softness in stone.

This new collection continues on the same theme but pushes it further in terms of form and materiality. Inspired by textile craftsmanship and weaving traditions, the project began with digital explorations of helix forms and weaving patterns. 3D-rendered miniatures were meticulously calibrated before the full-size onyx pieces were brought to life by ARCA's craftspeople using a combination of robotics and hand techniques to carve the monolithic blocks.

The new pieces, appearing like candy confections, include a round coffee table with a continuous, spiralling base, a dining table informed by natural rock formations, an undulating lounge chair and corrugated bench made from layered, hollow stone arches that look more like marshmallows. The show pony of the collection is an onyx ping pong table that transforms into a dining table with the removal of the net.

Arranged across the floor and perched on pedestals in ARCA's Wynwood showroom, the NUDO 2.0 pieces are displayed alongside bestsellers from the original 2022 collection remade in onyx. To bring the stones to life, Wearstler chose to paint the showroom's gallery-like rooms in warm shades of ochre. We caught up with Wearstler, a former guest editor of Wallpaper* Magazine's special Legends Issue, to find out more.

Wallpaper*: How did the collaboration come about?

Kelly Wearstler: A few years ago, ARCA contacted me about collaborating with them on a stone furniture collection. I was captivated by their cutting-edge approach to the material. From the outset, there was a natural synergy – we wanted to create pieces that pushed the boundaries of the technological capabilities while also celebrating artisanal craftsmanship. With NUDO 2.0, we expanded upon the language of the original NUDO series, and revealed new ideas.

W*: The pieces are made using a blend of robotics and hand techniques. Could you elaborate on the role robotics and artisan skills play and why they are both important?

KW: The robotic arm allowed us to approach very large pieces of marble, using scientific precision, to realise works at an impressively grand scale. There is an intricacy to carving the interiors of these pieces that would be almost impossible for a person to achieve. Ultimately, each piece was finished by hand to preserve its refined character and to ensure the designs conveyed a softness that only an artisan could execute.

W*: The original NUDO collection was realised in marble. Why was onyx chosen for this follow-up collection?

KW: Onyx possesses a translucence that beautifully interacts with natural light, highlighting its intricate banding and veining. It appears almost gem-like. It proved to be a mesmerizing material to experiment with, as the stone’s rich variation in colour allowed us to create one-of-a-kind pieces, each with its own distinctions.

W*: The collection draws inspiration from ancient weaving techniques and explores themes of fluidity and softness in stone. What motivated this exploration, and how do these concepts resonate with the larger vision of the NUDO series?

When conceiving my first presentation at Miami Art Week, I wanted to convey works that represented a tradition that connected all corners of the world. The intricacy and rich tradition of textile craftsmanship and weaving was the united element we were searching for. Approaching these ancient crafts through stone was an exciting challenge and the capabilities that ARCA presented made it all possible. Naturally, the works are not literal and the new collection diverges a bit from the first, but it really builds upon the principates that were set out by the initial inspiration.

Los Angeles-based designer Kelly Wearstler has shaped a formidable career, balancing comfort with drama and craft with texture, to bring appropriate levels of poetic charm to cinematic interiors. Her new lighting collection ‘Lotura’ marks an intriguing development away from architectural or even decorative lighting, towards light sources of a more sculptural nature. And when Wearstler shifts gears, the industry sits up and takes note.

The designer cites brutalism as her muse here, and it’s not hard to see why. Materiality is front and centre, with cast metals celebrated in glorious heft, constructed in intersecting forms that play with their weight, while curved edges bring a subtle softening effect. Three different finishes – blackened bronze, aged brass or powdery white – bring echoes of deco glamour. The collection comprises floor lamps, table lamps, pendants and sconces, with uplighting and downlighting options available to suit your needs and desires.

Kelly Wearstler was a guest editor of Wallpaper* in 2022, and we couldn’t let the opportunity pass to catch up with her to hear more about how ‘Lotura’ came to be.

Kelly Wearstler’s ‘Lotura’ lighting

Wallpaper*: Congratulations on such a striking collection. The brutalist mood is compelling – is this a response to the brutal times in which we are living?

Kelly Wearstler: I find there is something eternally modern and universal about brutalism – its architecture and influence now spans decades and can be found across the globe. Furniture that is composed of a single element in a brutalist form brings its texture, shape and colour to the forefront – embracing the organic and conveying the hand of the maker. Our challenge with ‘Lotura’ was bringing this to life through lighting.

W*: Tell us about the name ‘Lotura’.
KW: ‘Lotura’ is derived from the Latin root ‘lavo’ and often defined as ‘a washing’. The ‘Lotura’ collection achieves just that – a washing of light from within the traversing metal planes of the fixtures.

W*: How would you describe the character of the collection?
KW: The entire collection is composed of textural, artisanal cast metal. The uniformity is a characteristic of brutalist design – demonstrating an appreciation of materiality but also representing an instance where structural elements are favoured over decorative design.

W*: It feels as if there's a move away from background, architectural lighting towards more sculptural lighting objects – do you agree?

KW: Yes, lighting in particular holds incredible potential to blur the lines between art objects and practical design. There is a growing appreciation for strong sculptural forms – bringing forth the realisation that functional pieces can be works of art, too.

W*: Please complete the sentence: ‘Design for me means...’

KW: Celebrating the unexpected.

kellywearstler.com

Kelly Wearstler has launched two new collections with Belgian design brand Serax, encapsulating the American designer's eclectic spirit with an everyday approach. The launch comprises two distinct families that include tableware, glassware, serve ware and cutlery in neutral tones, imagined to be combined to create rich compositions. 

Kelly Wearstler Serax collections: Zuma and Dune

The Zuma collection includes a full set of tableware, with plates ranging from extra small to large and including bowls and serving options, cups, mugs and glasses, as well as a cake stand. A digital grid printed on the tableware nods to traditional craft techniques while connecting with Wearstler's current futuristic explorations, with the pattern featuring as a blown-up motif or smaller grid (or just a line) depending on the piece.

Furthermore, the colour palette of Pacific black, salt white and Sienna brown lends itself to an array of different compositions, with the designs encouraging a mix-and-match approach.

The Dune collection, meanwhile, is inspired by ancient Greek pottery and is defined by a series tactile porcelain pieces in a trio of hues including alabaster, slate or clay. 

Additional pieces include wooden serving boards (with tiered, tray-like and asymmetrical options) and cutlery whose stems feature asymmetrical designs. The same ridged motif found on the porcelain is replicated on the glassware, and the launch's practical approach to the kitchen is topped off with a series of knives (paring, chef, steak) with wooden handles. 

Demonstrating Wearstler's ability to infuse everyday objects with a sophisticated panache and her unique approach to living, the Dune and Zuma collections embody an everyday simplicity while bringing together a table setting. They comprise a series of future classics that will invite many compositions and interpretations. 

serax.com

As far as creative dream teams go, it rarely gets better than pairing the sculptural stoicism of architecture firm Masastudio with the decadent sensuality of Kelly Wearstler – both named in our Wallpaper* USA 300.

The two LA-based studios are the forces behind a stunning home located on two acres of land on the west side of the city. Made up by combining three adjacent properties to form a sprawling site, the home was built from the ground up over a period of three years, and boasts a pool pavilion, a guest house and a garden, in addition to the main house.

Los Angeles family home by Masastudio and Kelly Wearstler: ‘modern and warm with a soulful materiality’

‘The clients had never done a new construction before,’ says Wearstler. ‘They’re art collectors with a passion for design, and they wanted to assemble a diverse team to set out a great project. They had visited the Amangiri resort in Utah, so they brought on Marwan [Al Sayed, of Masastudio], and reached out to me because they wanted something modern but also warm with a soulful materiality. So we both worked very closely with the client from the beginning. The entire project took about five years.’ 

Together with Andrea Cochran, who oversaw the landscape design, Al Sayed and Wearstler worked in tandem to create a unified approach that is palpable from the clarity in which the architecture, interiors and landscape dialogue with each other. From orienting the house around a series of majestic Chinese elm trees already onsite to creating large, expansive windows that frame views of the landscape or equally stunning pool house, all aspects of the house’s design have been well considered. 

Despite being a new construction, Al Sayed sought to create something that felt like a restored piece of architecture from another time, as per the clients’ wishes. The architect drew inspiration from his time spent living in Morocco to create a layout that echoes the residential typographies of North Africa and the Mediterranean. 

A house that feels like a village

‘The clients wanted something a bit different, something sculptural and artistic, but at the same time, it’s a home for the family,’ says Al Sayed. ‘They like modern work, but also mentioned an appreciation for Greek architecture, and the serenity you get from forms bathed in light. That led to thinking about breaking up the house in a way that feels a little like a village.’

Composed as four distinct masses that pinwheel around an oval courtyard, the house has been organised to reflect the clients’ desire for the living room, dining room and kitchen to be in separate rooms. The layout is anchored by the main bedroom suite and offices in one corner, a children’s bedroom suite in the second, the kitchen, garage and service wing in the third, and the library, bar and older child’s bedroom in the fourth, with communal features interspersed between the four cubic volumes to maintain a sense of free-flowing space throughout. 

‘The [interstitial] spaces are almost like a street, connecting the parents’ wing with the children’s wings [and onwards],’ says Al Sayed. ‘Everyone is in a smaller zone for the most part, but when you come to the ground floor, the communal spaces, such as the living room, dining room, breakfast room and entryway, are all broken up and situated between the masses, so that you circulate around the courtyard to get to each one.’

‘Courtyards are [traditionally] the soul of a house,’ he continues, adding that the oval shape was inspired by Constantin Brâncuşi’s head sculptures. ‘It’s almost like a sculpture because of the way the light reflects off the curved glass and how it opens up and centres on an old olive tree. There are no columns, so the whole thing is distended and the roof subtly bellies down to the oval.’

Primarily constructed from chalky white concrete and rendered plaster, the house’s austere exterior is complemented by a burst of warm autumnal tones and rich texture in its interior. Working in close dialogue with the clients, Wearstler responded to the house’s architecture when designing the millwork and selecting the interior material finishes.

‘From looking at the hardscape of the exterior, with the board-formed concrete and hand-trowelled plaster, we brought in lots of stones that were leathered and honed, and wood varieties like sand-blasted Douglas fir that had visual impact and tactility,’ she says. ‘Throughout the house, there are also different timbers used, including a burnt cypress from a company in Texas. It was about looking at these interesting materials that were going to make the home feel warm and bring a lot of soul and texture to it.’

‘Bringing a lot of the materiality to the interior architecture was a big part of our scope,’ she adds. ‘During that process, the clients were collecting additional pieces of art, sourcing furniture and commissioning unique textiles for some of the furnishings. We worked together on what walls things were best featured on and where the opportunities were to collect or commission new pieces. I love clients that are super involved. It pushes the team to do something really different, and you’re able to give clients exactly what they want. You also get to learn from everyone involved.’ 

In addition to artist commissions, such as a figurative steel and concrete sculpture by Mexican artist Pedro Reyes in the pool house, Wearstler and her team also sought out unusual vintage pieces from Europe, such as a pair of 1966 lounge chairs by Valeria Borsani and Alfredo Bonetti for Tecno in the living room and a pair of rare ‘Aghia’ table lamps, designed by Roberto Pamio for Leucos, in the main bedroom, to bring another layer to the interiors. 

With no shortage of memorable moments throughout the property, Wearstler deftly balances creating spaces that truly function with eye-catching statements, all the while enhancing the synergy already existing with the architecture and landscape. Thanks to expansive views of the garden and a recurring series of perforations and slots throughout the architecture to allow natural light and air to permeate the interior, the house feels embedded in its surroundings. 

In the spacious pool pavilion, which boasts a sunken conversation pit, an oversized dining table custom made from ebonised oak by LA company Bespoke Furniture, a set of resin and fibreglass dining chairs by Patrick Naggar for Ralph Pucci, ocular apertures and skylights embedded in the inky black plaster ceiling bring a sense of drama to the indoor-outdoor setting. ‘There are so many nuanced moments [in the house] that Marwan is known for. The house can be completely open air so that it’s exposed to the incredible vistas that Andrea designed,’ says Wearstler. 

Some of the house’s most beautiful moments are often behind closed doors. In the powder room on the ground floor, a statuesque sink, hewn from marble, stands under a 12ft-deep skylight. In the pool pavilion, a sunken bedroom boasts floor-to-ceiling windows that look out on to one of the Chinese elm trees, which sits within an envelope of board-formed concrete. The bathroom attached to the main bedroom is especially showstopping. Clad entirely in Arabescato Corchia marble, with a sculpted bathtub to match, it features a laser-cut privacy screen placed over the windows and a lone piece of art.

‘The main suite is in its own area in the house,’ Wearstler says. ‘The integration ofthe closet and the bathroom, along with the way the windows and the screens work that Marwan designed, is insane.’

‘To me, that little gold leaf painting on the wall in that context just sets off the whole room. It felt perfect,’ Al Sayed echoes. ‘Working with Kelly was a lot of fun. It was very collaborative and there was a lot of improvisation, dialogues that we would riff off of. We both approach things from an artistic and less cerebral perspective. It’s more focused on creating, crafting and making. There was a beautiful back and forth between the two scopes, and a lot of being inspired by each other in different ways.’ 

kellywearstler.com

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A version of this article appears in the August 2023 issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

If you’ve ever coveted one of the many statement-making objects that Kelly Wearstler frequently installs within her glamorous, high-octane projects, then the designer’s expansion of her in-house gallery arm will be a flood for the senses. Building on a series of one-off collaborations that Wearstler unveiled over the course of the last year, Gallery makes a fresh splash with exclusive product collections by eight artists and designers from around the world, newly created with her input and guidance. 

The essence of Wearstler’s memorable environments, which span the residential, commercial and hospitality worlds, can often be found in her choice of provocative and often one-of-a-kind pieces that blur the line between form and function. Her expanded vision for Gallery underscores the importance of the collectible and serves as a meeting point for international talent, emerging names and design in all forms. 

As we’ve discovered from our previous conversations with Kelly Wearstler, collaboration with other creatives is a key part of her process. 

‘I launched this initiative as I wanted to share the artists that inspire me most with my community around the world,’ she explained when the platform first debuted. ‘These collaborations offer me the opportunity to work with a range of talent that I have always admired. One of my favourite aspects of my work is collaborating with different artists and designers, as I have the chance to expand my knowledge, pushing my creative boundaries as I learn new ways to approach craft and design. I am constantly learning and developing as a designer.’

In its reaffirmed form, Gallery brings together the work of creatives including the Detroit-based ceramicist and sculptor Ebitenyefa Baralaye, whose terracotta sculptures nod to text, symbols and forms drawn from the diaspora and translated into a contemporary context, the Nashville multidisciplinary artist Amelia Briggs, known for her playful inflated forms (Wearstler commissioned her to create three large, metallic mirrors), the Dutch designer Dirk van der Kooij, whose recycled plastic lamps blend craftsmanship and invention, and the South Korean ceramicist YehRim Lee who has used the traditional ‘onggi’ hand-building technique to create a series of terracotta drinks and side tables – a first for the artist.

Wearstler has infused her insight and signature aesthetic into each of these creative relationships, be it through suggestions on scale and the type of product being developed, to the way materials themselves are being used. Her expertise stems ‘from working with different artists and knowing what sells, what clients are looking for and knowing what scales work well within a project’, she explains. ‘These pieces are all unique works. While some of these artists might be represented by other galleries globally, we’ve focused on creating new works that are in partnership between the artists and myself.’

Austrian furniture designer Felix Muhrhofer (whom Wearstler has commissioned for projects in the past, and whose pieces she has acquired for her personal collection) has created a new series of tables featuring inlaid stone, this time incorporating stones from both Italy and others collected by Wearstler from the beach near her Malibu home to symbolise their relationship. 

Wearstler says, ‘A lot of Felix’s works were more delicate in scale, so working with him on scale and materiality and collaborating on something that was from his material palette, while also being inspired by LA [is where we landed.] Within all of the rocks and stones that are placed on each tabletop, I actually selected around 100 stones for this collection from Malibu, which he took and worked with. The colours are vast. I love that within each piece, you can see the stones that came from Malibu. It’s really beautiful in person.’ 

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When Titian’s Flaying of Marsyas arrived at London’s Royal Academy of Arts in 1983, its first modern appearance outside Italy, it was still unseen by many. The masterpiece was one of Titian’s last, and tells Ovid’s tragic story of the satyr Marsyas, who, after losing a flute-playing contest to the god Apollo, was punished with a cruel, prolonged death. Audiences were spellbound by its immense agony; flesh ripped from bone, bodies in frenzied motion, heightened by the Venetian artist’s uncharacteristically loose brushwork. 

Flaying of Marsyas also cast a spell over American artist Mary Weatherford – one of five contemporary creatives showcased by Wallpaper* guest editor Kelly Wearstler in her October 2022 issue takeover – when she first saw the painting in Rome a decade ago. ‘I was shocked’, she says. ‘I had seen violence depicted in painting before, but never like this. The characters attending the execution seem to take it in their stride, particularly the violinist who lays down a musical backdrop to the suffering. The name of the painting literally translated from Italian is “The Punishment of Marsyas”, which resonates with me because, in theory, punishment should be fair. This punishment – for hubris or ignorance? – seems outsized, to put it mildly.’ 

Weatherford imagined an entire exhibition of abstract paintings dedicated to Titian’s. In April this year, that exhibition, ‘The Flaying of Marsyas’, came to life at Venice’s Palazzo Grimani, coinciding with the 59th Venice Biennale. ‘I wanted to remake the painting again and again,’ she says. 

While Titian’s painting was dropping jaws in 1980s London, Weatherford was studying art at Princeton. ‘Postmodernism was in the air,’ she recalls. ‘I interpreted it to say I had permission to use whatever style I wanted to get my point across.’ It’s this curiosity for history and openness to shapeshifting that has defined the artist’s career and seen her become one of the pivotal painters of her generation. 

Though her work might now be characterised by broad, gestural brushstrokes with layered colours and paint viscosities, it wasn’t always this way. The artist has moved through chapters of disparate painterly styles – from assemblages involving shells, sponges, and starfish to razor-sharp abstraction, image appropriation and photography – in which themes such as gender and architecture rub up against each other. One constant, though, has been painting horizontally, on the floor or a table. ‘This approach has been the same for 30 years,’ she says. ‘I just commissioned a platform that can be perfectly levelled. I can pour liquid colour onto a canvas stapled to the platform, and the paint doesn’t move.’

Her artistic influences have ranged far and wide – ‘you name it, it’s in there’, she says – but one stands out: the American folk musician Dave Van Ronk, with whom Weatherford studied guitar in the 1990s. ‘For three years on Thursday evenings, I went for lessons at his apartment on Sheridan Square in New York,’ she recalls. ‘He taught me how to practise, and that carried over to painting. Van Ronk was one of my great art teachers.’

Another pivotal moment arrived in 2012. While a visiting artist at California State University, Weatherford was driving around the small city of Bakersfield. She was struck by the array of neon signs cladding factories, shops, restaurants and advertisements. For The Bakersfield Project, 2012, Weatherford first incorporated the sinuous rods of neon that would go on to define her best-known paintings. Evoking hand-drawn lines, her neon ebbs and flows above her vast linen canvases (including those on show at Palazzo Grimani) like divine interventions or industrial interruptions – a searing, retina-marking counterpoint to her sombre palette of blacks, greys, purples and accents of silver. 

Her art has offered feminist reworkings of the male-dominated colour field and reconfigured the path for landscape painting. ‘I think of landscapes as the eyes of history,’ says Weatherford, who often draws on the expansive vistas and ethereal light of her home state of California. ‘For the most part, landscapes are stable and immutable. Events happen in them, mostly leaving no trace. But the landscape is always there as a witness.’

Titian’s Flaying of Marsyas is a horror story in its purest form; a potent example of man’s cruelty to another. In Weatherford’s response – ongoing in a series of woodblock prints on Japanese paper – it’s the absence of bodies that allows for the presence of humanity.

INFORMATION

‘The Flaying of Marsyas’ is at Museo di Palazzo Grimani, Venice, until 27 November 2022

gagosian.com, polomusealeveneto.beniculturali.it

A version of this article appears in the October 2022 Legends Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

Self-preservation is a top priority for Brent Faiyaz. The Maryland-raised R&B star, whose second album, Wasteland, came out this summer, has made his mark by crooning about needing love on his own terms, which often leaves the women in his life with the short end of the stick. Some deem it as toxic – a more flowery version of the gut-punching disregard that Atlanta rap superstar Future often projects in his musical universe, where women are no more than temporary fodder for his immediate needs.

But Faiyaz has the courtesy to articulate why he won’t be around, and it’s been resonating with his young fans for close to a decade now. It has also seen Wallpaper* guest editor Kelly Wearstler name Faiyaz one of her favourite contemporary creatives, in her October 2022 issue takeover. Through his spirited runs and yearning melodies, the singer does a masterful job of illuminating the tug-and-pull of managing romance in your twenties while navigating the distressing pressures of setting yourself up for future success. He makes it feel like a real dilemma.

Faiyaz’s first musical output came towards the end of his high school days with a now-hard-to-find EP from 2013 titled Black Child, and a 2014 song called Natural Release that told a dreadful story about a man killing himself after mistakenly thinking his girl was cheating on him. Faiyaz’s imagination and penchant for cinematic storytelling caught the attention of popular blogs, which identified him as a hopeful R&B standout. Things took a real turn for the better when, in 2016, he was commissioned for the hook on fellow DMV (the mid-Atlantic area of the US, where Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia connect) artist GoldLink’s career-defining single, Crew. Brent’s self-congratulatory lines – brushing off girls who are only interested because of his recent success – made the song an instant hit, resulting in a 2018 Grammy nomination. From there, he ascended as R&B’s voice of the dissatisfied youth.

Wasteland feels like a victory lap. ‘What’s left of us? What’s left of our lives? It’s only you, it’s only me. It’s only us at the end of the night,’ is how he describes the agony of feeling stuck with someone at the detriment of his own happiness on Loose Change. The song sees him struggling with how authentic love can be for a person experiencing a new level of fame. He’s either paranoid about the changing dynamics of his already-existing relationships, or growing bored with everything around him because it reminds him of an uncomfortable past.

On Gravity, which features Tyler, the Creator, he thanks a lover for holding him down, but expects his life as a travelling artist to get in the way of their relationship progressing. Then, on his biggest flex, Wasting Time, he grabs Drake and an early 2000s-sounding beat from The Neptunes to convince a prospective lover to enter a dead-ended but exciting situationship with him.

Superstar appearances are in abundance on Wasteland, and while it marks a new chapter in Faiyaz’s career, it also satisfies a younger version of him who could only dream of this happening. ‘This time I just felt like I wanted to go all out,’ he says of the album.

‘Collaboration-wise, it all came naturally just from motherfuckers fucking with me. I’ve been listening to their music since I was a kid, from The Neptunes to Drake to Alicia Keys to The-Dream. Twelve-, thirteen-year-old me is like, “Damn, what the fuck, nigga?”.

INFORMATION

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A version of this article appears in the October 2022 Legends Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

Sitting down to write about Honor Titus – one of five contemporary creatives spotlighted by Wallpaper* guest editor Kelly Wearstler in her October 2022 issue takeover – scrolling through images and recalling the instances I have pondered on his work, I feel the immediate compulsion to play jazz. ‘I listen to jazz because it makes me feel good. Jazz is the catalyst not only for my work, but for everything,’ he tells me later when I mention this. This much is clear. 

Before transfixing the art world with his flat planes of colour, Titus was the frontman of hardcore punk band Cerebral Ballzy, which he formed with his friends as a teen. Music is in Titus’ genes. His luminous tones captured within thin black lines give musical drama to his faceless figures.

They are stills from recalled memories: a woman rushes down to the subway in white stilettos under a red sky; a penny-loafer-wearing girl swings her legs on a balustrade; a tennis player contorts backwards to meet the racket with the ball with such extremity that she almost skews the perspective in the composition. They are whimsy and wonder, with a touch of knowing irony that makes it endearing. ‘My parents danced in front of a piece entitled Brownstone Waltz at my first exhibition in New York,’ Titus divulges. Such a scene would work well within his oeuvre.

How does Titus think of his work? Narrative and feeling play heavily into the imagery: ‘I’ll say that I am quite sentimental in my work. What does the produced picture conjure? How does it make me feel? Said produced picture can be very comparable to a perfect stanza, chapter or tune.’

The work is extremely self-referential, but when has it been possible to strip the lives of the artist from art-making? With Titus, it seeps through with purpose and conscious awareness that putting paint to canvas conjures intimate passages in artists’ lives. ‘This makes me think of Pierre Bonnard and the Intimist movement, when these fabulous French painters would depict their domestic lives. Both are very personal and also quite anonymous,’ says Titus.

‘The scenes conveyed are inspirational and inviting; they also make me think of my found photo collection. I love to imagine their struggles, hopes and trysts. Also to admire their beauty in that very specific moment.’ Standing in front of his work, we question which page we are on, what moment has been crystallised and why this crystallisation of moments feels unstable. ‘I’ve been told that my work feels as though there is a before and after. I love that.’

In his new series, to be unveiled at his solo exhibition at Timothy Taylor in London in November, Titus looks at traditionalism and class, to make a ‘loose yet dynamic take on debutante culture’. He adds, ‘to capture coming-of-age youth at parties, in ballrooms, dancing, in gowns and bow ties makes for a good picture. It can be that simple.’

Titus is deftly straightforward yet enigmatic at once. While telling it as it is, he leaves room for flourish and drama. Much like his references: pop, French painters such as Félix Vallotton and Maurice Denis, a fusion of bold, bombastic and intimate, romantic sensibilities. Where does that put Titus? ‘I’m just a sentimental Black boy from Brooklyn who has read Evelyn Waugh, played with Black Flag and The Strokes, now dances to Charlie Parker, sat with the works of Édouard Vuillard and Edward Hopper, who is still seeking to learn after all these years.’

INFORMATION

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A version of this article appears in the October 2022 Legends Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

Since establishing his eponymous studio in Barcelona in 2018, Andrés Reisinger has helped to define the look and feel of the virtual realm. With his love of pastel colours, organic forms and surrealist environments, Reisinger brings an unexpected warmth to his designs, challenging the clinical stereotype of digital spaces. His ability to bring together the digital and physical worlds is at once disorienting, soothing and comforting. It has also won him fans including Wallpaper* guest editor Kelly Wearstler, who named him one of her five favourite contemporary creatives in her takeover of our October 2022 issue. 

From the tantalising Winter House (2022) NFT residential project, a collaboration with architect Alba de la Fuente in the metaverse, to last year’s physical exhibition of seating at Nilufar Gallery in Milan, which saw three furniture pieces exist both in real life and as NFTs, Reisinger constantly pushes the limit of how these two worlds can be bridged. 

Reisinger describes his work as ‘the reflection of an uncanny feeling, one where it is hard to distinguish whether it belongs to the physical or digital realm, reality or fantasy. For me, the digital is an expansion of our physical experiences.’

He continues, ‘I like to provoke, to raise questions. Many of my works feature seemingly surreal forms. The colour palette is filled with shades of pink, like the inside of our body. It is very important for me to build a collection of bodily experiences, to underline that there is a strong connection between multiple dimensions, all belonging to a human reality.’ 

Drawn to the digital sphere from a young age – ‘Of course, I wanted to play games, but I was more interested in creating my own worlds than playing by the rules of someone else’ – the Argentinian has a knack for technical skill and precision, which led him to pursue graphic design at the University of Buenos Aires. There, his love of music inspired him to explore the visual aspect of composing.

‘At first glance, [my works] are pleasing to the eye, but on a second, more attentive look, they feature elements of oddity,’ he reflects. ‘It is important for every component of the work to be noticed, and for it to happen in a world overwhelmed with visual stimuli, it needs a discrete element of oddity.’

One of Reisinger’s earliest works, Hortensia, 2018, began as a digital rendering of an armchair adorned with thousands of pale pink petals. It went viral on social media, prompting Reisinger to turn it into a real-life chair with Moooi, for which they ruched 500 strips of laser-cut fabric flowers into clusters to envelope the frame. ‘The experience taught me that you can create digital demand, develop a product digitally before putting it in production, without wasting unnecessary resources,’ he explains. ‘The digital can help us discover what we can achieve, by pushing what we think is possible.’ 

In an increasingly competitive landscape, Reisinger is already thinking about his next steps. ‘I’ve invented a genre, and that is undoubtedly a beautiful feeling,’ he reflects. ‘I might not be the most skilled creative, but I can innovate by understanding a future where different worlds can meet and enhance each other’s experiences.’

INFORMATION

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A version of this article appears in the October 2022 Legends Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

In a world where sartorial styles come and go, the New York-based fashion designer Dion Lee’s eye-catching take on sexiness and sensuality has endured. Established in 2009 in Sydney, Australia, when Lee was 23, his label offers collections that not only marry traditional tailoring with experimental construction, but also consistently boast an exciting approach to textiles, wearable yet provocative silhouettes, and a body confidence not for the faint-hearted. Such elements have made him a favourite of Wallpaper* guest editor Kelly Wearstler, who named Lee one of her five contemporary creatives in her takeover of our October 2022 issue. 

An attention to detail has always been at the core of Lee’s garments. Wardrobe staples such as T-shirt dresses and tailored blazers are given added panache with elements of corsetry and macramé rope, producing a study in contrasts. Functionality is also given serious consideration, though never at the expense of style. Parachute pants and cargo trousers have been tweaked for city living, realised in smooth Italian leather and finished with stud details.

Wallpaper* guest editor Kelly Wearstler’s contemporary creatives: Dion Lee

‘The overarching philosophy is feeling good in the clothes,’ says Lee. ‘My process is very instinctive and organic. Ideas flow between the seasons and I am constantly feeding myself with new references and experiences in art, design and new destinations. The collection has grown and evolved over the years. However, there is still a consistent focus on utilitarian, sensual dressing and feeling confident in your body.’

Lee once abandoned menswear to focus on womenswear, but then revived his men’s line in 2017. In recent years, he has blurred the distinctions between the genders. His S/S20 collection consciously adapted his womenswear staples for men: cutaway tank-tops, long-sleeved tees with garter details and sheer knits were presented on male models and suitably paired with low-slung trousers, clutch bags and flat sandals to capture the spirit of the times. Largely stemming from Lee’s adoption of womenswear pieces for personal use, these pieces solidified the latent balance of masculinity and femininity already present in the label’s previous collections.

Lee’s embrace of androgyny has naturally evolved into a fully fledged unisex collection, where a core selection of signature pieces are available in non-gendered sizes. Lee’s work since then has been bold and provocative. Body-conscious silhouettes have taken on a futuristic, sci-fi aura, layered on the body, while more architectural pieces distort the anatomy.

The A/W 2022 collection saw Lee not only work with modular sartorial elements – articulated sleeves on jackets and tops that can be removed with hook and eye fastenings – but also explore how sexuality, power and control can coalesce in wearable form. 

‘Designing the collection from a unisex perspective has influenced how I create. The majority of the collection is fitted on both women and men, and that influences the cut, grade and fabric selection for each design,’ the designer reflects. ‘Our core customer is consciously diverse. I like to think many people are able to wear my designs, from the utilitarian basics, refined unisex tailoring, through to the sensual eveningwear. There is a playful sensuality communicated in my work, which is a reflection of how I want the wearer to explore themselves and their bodies through the clothes.’

INFORMATION 

A version of this article appears in the October 2022 issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today!

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Thirteen years after The New Yorker dubbed her ‘the presiding grande dame of West Coast interior design’, Kelly Wearstler’s ascent shows no signs of slowing. While continuing to surprise and delight with boldly textured, patterned and coloured interiors, she has also dived headfirst into the world of furniture design, built a global lifestyle brand and amassed almost two million Instagram followers, all the while championing kindred spirits across creative disciplines. For her guest-editor takeover of Wallpaper’s October 2022 issue, the doyenne of American design invites us into her Beverly Hills home, ponders the future of technology and craft, and shines the spotlight on five of her favourite contemporary creatives (whom we’ll also be featuring in a series of profiles over the coming days).

Kelly Wearstler: the guest-editor interview

For every successful business named after its founder, there comes a period of tension when the company blossoms beyond the persona and becomes, well, a brand. Kelly Wearstler has navigated the potentially awkward evolution effortlessly; in the 27 years since she entered the interior design world, her company has grown exponentially. She has remained integral to the nuts-and-bolts decision-making across the business, keeping her hands on every project, while turning her independently-owned company into a household name – a rarity for the industry. She manages to make the whole enterprise feel personal, as though she might ring you up after you purchase a chair from her website to discuss your choice of finish, yet exudes the confidence of someone helming a global design empire. 

When we speak over Zoom (at 8am on a Saturday morning no less; evidently, she rarely switches off), she is at home, at Hillcrest, a 12,000 sq ft, six-bedroom property in Beverly Hills, where the shoot for this article took place. She purchased the property in 2006 from the prestigious Broccoli family, the producers of the James Bond films, and her Oscar-worthy renovation lets the house’s historic bones breathe while dressing it with a contemporary air. She lives there with her husband, two sons and two dogs. While Wearstler is known for her abundant use of juicy, expressive colours (such as zesty Citrona and minty Palm, two of the shades from her recent Farrow & Ball partnership), her home is outfitted in a soothing palette, which acts as a calming backdrop for her impressive personal art collection, including works by Victor Vasarely, Misha Kahn and Hector Leonardi. And although deliciously serene, politely tasteful is not her jam: she prefers design to be ‘provocative’ (indeed, in early September she launched her hand-carved marble ‘Butt stool', which appears to reveal the cheeks of the sitter at its rear).

Wearstler took naturally to the invitation to be guest editor of Wallpaper*. Over the years, she has honed an editor’s eye, taking inspiration from architecture, design, art, fashion, nature, and more, then filtering, filing, saving, recalling from her extensive research. ‘Being super organised, I categorise all my inspiration, and I do have a great memory,’ she admits. ‘I take a ton of photos and videos on my phone. I have an amazing archive library with vintage out-of-print books that I reference. And there’s all the digital inspiration that’s out there. When I see something that moves me and excites me, I keep it at the top of my creative mind.’

As guest editor, Wearstler was keen to consider two forces shaping the world of design today – technology and craft – as well as what happens when these two overlap. Shining light on her favourite contemporary creatives across art, music, fashion and digital design was also front of mind. She approached the task with the same vigour and agility as she applies to the vast breadth of her day-to-day work, which covers interior and product design, creative direction and more.

Fellow creatives and cross-pollination

Collaboration is central to Wearstler’s creative process. She often brings in emerging and established artists, ceramicists and furniture makers to create unique pieces for projects and, in addition, she encourages her team of around 50 employees to collaborate across departments. ‘There’s so much crossover and cross-pollination in the studio,’ she says, being sure to champion her team at every opportunity during our conversation.

In 2021, she launched the gallery, a shoppable curated area on her website that promotes artists she admires, such as California-based ceramicist Morgan Peck and New York- and Milan-based lighting and furniture designer Hagit Pincovici. ‘I realised I have this platform I can use as a megaphone to help spread the word on this incredible talent,’ she says (with almost 2m Instagram followers, she is perfectly placed to do so).

What attracts her to these creatives? ‘That they have a unique point of view, and that [I feel] like, “Holy shit, that’s so fucking cool”. It’s all about falling in love, you know, that first time you see someone and your heart stops. That emotional, profound feeling,’ she enthuses. ‘And that the artist brings something creatively unique, whether it’s the design itself, or the materiality.’ 

She met Argentinian digital artist Andrés Reisinger via social media (which she often uses to discover fellow creatives), calling him ‘a true pioneer in the digital space’; admires the brushwork and love of colour of young American multidisciplinary artist Honor Titus, who will open a solo show at Timothy Taylor in London in November; finds a common love of LA in the bold, abstract artwork of fellow Californian Mary Weatherford (‘I can sit with her paintings for hours’); invited R&B singer Brent Faiyaz, ‘a curious soul who loves design’, to her studio two days after they began messaging on Instagram; and for years she has been buying the sculptural clothes of fashion designer Dion Lee, which she says ‘really challenges preconceptions of gender’. 

Diving right into the metaverse

Wearstler also has a growing fascination with the ‘wild west’ of the metaverse. ‘What is exciting about designing for Web 3.0 is that creativity is the leader,’ she says. ‘There are no limitations, there are no engineering issues, you can be as free-spirited as you want.’ Plus, she points out, ‘Virtual spaces are inherently more accessible’. In April 2021, she unveiled a virtual garage for Hummer’s new EV. It signalled new territory for the designer, a challenge she relished. When marketing agency Ranaverse first approached her with the brief, ‘I didn’t have anyone in my studio who knew how to do it at the time, but we just jumped in and figured it out,’ she says with her characteristic assuredness. To create the subterranean futuristic environment, her team designed all the wireframes in-house, building them out with sketches, then brought it all to life via 3D-video. 

Wearstler is especially interested in exploring the capabilities held within the metaverse that can then be realised IRL. ‘We designed some furniture for the garage, which we then put in our collection.’ Similarly, she created a digital environment to showcase her first collection with American lighting manufacturer Tech Lighting. Lighting design holds challenges that digital tools can help navigate: choreographing the warmth, colour and projection of light from a minuscule LED chip requires not just a designer’s eye but also a technical hand. Her in-house team of four lighting experts do a lot of 3D-printing to look at profiles. ‘When things are so minimal and streamlined, and the light source is so small, it’s almost like designing a watch, everything has to come together so precisely,’ she says. ‘There are so many nuances on the inside you don’t even see.’ 

On the back of these projects, Wearstler has hired several digital designers to work in her West Hollywood studio. So, does she believe in the future of the metaverse? ‘I think it showcases creativity with no boundaries. I am a believer in it, full speed ahead.’ In 2018, Wearstler discovered the playful furniture of Dutch designer Dirk van der Kooij, who often works with recycled and salvaged materials, while she was midway through projects in two LEED-certified buildings in LA and San Francisco. ‘I saw this light fixture that I thought was a speaker. It had two dials on the side, which you could adjust to make the light source really warm or cool. Then I discovered that it was all extruded from recycled plastic.’ Going forwards, she is representing van der Kooij in North America.

New collaborations

This summer, Wearstler launched her ninth collection with The Rug Company, a collaboration that has lasted 14 years and counting: a painterly collection, titled Surreal Shifts, of carpets woven in fine Tibetan wool and silk by The Rug Company’s craftspeople. But just as she likes to interrogate and re-examine established ways of doing things, Wearstler is upending traditional notions of craft. Her new textile collection for the two-century-old upholsterer Lee Jofa, with which she has collaborated since 2006, is fabricated in Italy, Belgium, Turkey and the US, with each mill selected for its specialist technique, such as jacquard or printing.

Textile design traditionally involves hand-painting to create a pattern. But for her new Lee Jofa collection, ‘we did something different,’ she says triumphantly. ‘One textile was designed in a digital program, another in an architectural program, and we 3D-printed the pattern to test what it looked like in relief before commissioning a fabric sample,’ she says. ‘Instead of hand-painting, we are starting with digital and then those 3D-inspired designs are fabricated into the textiles. It’s a really interesting reversal.’

Although she is fascinated by new frontiers in digital realms, her work always carries something of the human hand. She became ‘smitten’ with the work of Montana-based sculptor YehRim Lee, who builds her paint-dripped ceramic furniture by hand, after placing one of Lee’s pieces in a project in LA. ‘She has a unique voice and sensibility,’ Wearstler says. ‘Plus, she’s really open and I love that can-do energy.’ Wearstler will unveil a collaboration with Lee later in 2022.

Spaces and storytelling

Storytelling often inspires Wearstler’s collaborations. A case in point is the Downtown LA Proper Hotel (part of Proper Hotels, the luxury lifestyle hotel group where she has been the interior designer since 2017. It is managed by Proper Hospitality, which was co-founded by Brian De Lowe, Alex Samek and Brad Korzen. Korzen, Wearstler’s real estate developer husband, was formerly CEO of the Viceroy Hotels group and impressively grew the brand from a single hotel to 4,500 employees). The Downtown LA Proper Hotel was originally built as a hotel in the 1920s, but most recently was a YWCA. The developers tasked Wearstler with finding an inventive way to nod to the history of the 18ft-high ceilings of one of the suites, which was a basketball court in its former incarnation. This led her to the ‘dripping’ disco ball sculptures by Dutch art collective Rotganzen, in particular one that was oozing through a basketball hoop. ‘I love the playfulness and sense of humour, they really blend the line between art and design objects,’ she says. She snapped one up for her own collection, before commissioning the collective to create 150 custom pieces, editioned and signed, for a collaboration that currently features in her online gallery.

The tiled back wall of The Peacock, the Mediterranean restaurant at the Austin Proper Hotel, tells a story about the menu before you even taste the food. Wearstler sourced its constituent tiles in Portugal, after visiting a family-run company that had been in business for 80 years. ‘I got a blend of beautiful deadstock tiles: there’s maybe four of one pattern and ten of another. I probably used 200 different tiles. It’s like a patchwork that feels very bohemian, very Austin. It really plays to the location and the story of that community.’ 

You know you’re sitting in a Wearstler-designed hotel when you think you’re reclining in your most stylish friend’s living room. ‘I look at hotel design and residential design through the same lens,’ she says of her propensity to create inviting, considered spaces, layered with texture and points of interest, much like a home assembled over years. ‘A hotel can be the epicentre of where locals hang out,’ she points out, as is the case with the Santa Monica Proper (‘a sexy project’), where she often holds meetings or relaxes. The hotel, which opened in 2019, inspired her latest ‘family’ of furniture, Morro, which hints at 1970s ‘monolithic’ French and Italian furniture. ‘The collection was super spontaneous. We needed a table of specific proportions for the Santa Monica Proper; it needed to be round, to feel organic and textural and very bulbous, like a shell. It looked so good when we had it fabricated that we did a side table, then something else, and something else.’

Sometimes projects evolve naturally in this way, which she calls ‘riding the wave’ – indeed, her entry to retail happened in this spirit in 2007, when she received a call from Jim Gold, the president of Bergdorf Goodman. She had recently renovated the restaurant BG, and he invited her to open a ‘shop in shop’: ‘I had no products at the time, but I just said yes and figured out the details after!’ she says.

Despite the conflation of unrelenting international crises, Wearstler remains optimistic. ‘Design is a force of good and a force of pleasure. In our world, there are so many challenges, and design can present incredible solutions to very real problems… making our lives easier, educating us along the way. Innovative design really enriches our lives; it can boost morale, spark conversations, and overall lead to good progress. It connects people.’ 

Kelly Wearstler: a design portfolio

An eclectic mix of graphic backdrops, unique artworks and vintage finds, Kelly Wearstler’s interiors – from scene-stealing hospitality projects to cutting-edge digital sets – take you by surprise, transporting you into a new dimension where warmth and textures are always the first port of call. Here’s a selection.

Santa Monica Proper 

A seaside location with a sophisticated sensibility, this hotel is accessed through a striking reception featuring a reclaimed hardwood floor in an octagonal pattern inspired by the shape of a beach umbrella 

Photography: Matthieu Salvaing

Austin Proper

Wearstler’s affinity for patterns is evident in the interiors of this hotel (the third she designed for the group). In the light-filled lobby, a gingham-clad ceiling is paired with a geometric parquet with ebonised wood inlays, while a vintage piece, sourced at High Point in Texas, complements the wooden panelling

Photography: The Ingalls

Surreal Shifts

Wearstler’s ninth collection for The Rug Company, these graphic rugs are hand-knotted in wool and silk. Pictured are the ‘District’, ‘Cascadia’, ‘Wavelength’, and ‘Avant Shaped’ rugs, on display on the steps of Lloyd Wright’s iconic John Sowden House 

Photography: courtesy of The Rug Company; The Ingalls

Collection VI

Pictured at TriStone & Tile’s showroom is Wearstler’s ‘Morro’ chair, upholstered left in ‘Esker’ weave in Coin/Taupe; and right in ‘Esker’ in Taupe/Coin. Both textiles are part of the designer’s sixth collection for Lee Jofa, a range composed of ten woven designs in the designer’s signature earthy colour palette

Photography: courtesy of The Rug Company; The Ingalls

Cracked Actor, by Rotganzen

Inspired by Los Angeles’ glamorous nights, this limited-edition objet d’art is part of the Quelle Fête series, created exclusively by Dutch art collective Rotganzen for Wearstler’s gallery initiative

Photography: The Ingalls

‘Satellite’ lamp, by Dirk van der Kooij

Part of Wearstler’s private collection, this lamp by the Dutch designer Dirk van der Kooij is extruded from recycled plastic (its first iteration used ground-up CD cases) and is now available in Wearstler's online gallery

Photography: The Ingalls

‘Butt Stools’

This autumn, Wearstler will launch her new marble ‘Butt Stool’, which appears to reveal the cheeks of the sitter at its rear. The pieces were 3D-modelled and hand-carved in marble. They are now available in Wearstler's online gallery

Photography: The Ingalls

‘Echo’ bench

This digital design exploration features the undulating forms of Wearstler’s ‘Echo’ bench, originally handcrafted by an LA craftsman for a Proper hotel. A real-life version in ivory-coloured gesso or solid Douglas fir (natural or ebonised) can be made to order.

Artwork: Kelly Wearstler Studio

Custom furniture, by Felix Muhrhofer

This virtual space features unique furniture designs by Felix Muhrhofer in collaboration with Wearstler that will launch in her gallery later this year. The Austrian designer caught Wearstler’s eye with his terrazzo designs, initially created in a friend’s garage.

Artwork: Kelly Wearstler Studio

‘Ebell’ lamps

Featuring a domed glass prism set on top of a long cylindrical metal body, the new ‘Ebell’ floor and table lamps for Tech Lighting were first presented in a digital setting created by Kelly Wearstler Studio. They will debut in her gallery later this year and are available on Kelly Wearstler studio website

Artwork: Kelly Wearstler Studio

Hummer garage

To mark the launch of the first all-electric Hummer in 2021, Wearstler’s studio designed a conceptual garage. The digital creation was inspired by the landscape around Joshua Tree, and brutalist and midcentury architecture

Artwork: Kelly Wearstler Studio

Cover photography: Amanda Hakan

A version of this article appears in the October 2022 Legends Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

INFORMATION

kellywearstler.com

American designer Kelly Wearstler is known for her eclectic and experiential approach to interiors, and her design collections featuring imaginative furniture and lifestyle accessories. Her work merges design history with a sense of modernity, resulting in spaces where architectural rigour is combined with organic shapes, textures and colours. Her studio has worked on private residences as well as commercial and hospitality projects, each characterised by Wearstler's multifaceted style while maintaining a distinctive personality.

Living in Los Angeles, Wearstler divides her time between her West Hollywood studio and her Beverly Hills residence, and her love and curiosity for her home city has informed her design practice. From her studio, Wearstler speaks to Wallpaper* about her daily life, her inspirations and future projects. 

At home with Kelly Wearstler

Wallpaper*: Where are you at the moment? Can you describe the space where you work?

Kelly Wearstler: I am based in Los Angeles and have a studio in West Hollywood. There is an inherent cross-pollination to my creative process, with each project providing inspiration for the next. So, whilst I work on a selection of projects at once, I like to keep my office organised, with all of the information for my projects – including drawings, plans, inspiration – in labelled packets, laid out on the desk so I can easily pick them up as and when I need them. I keep a collection of colour swatches nearby, so I can review tones and hues easily. I also keep a vast collection of books in my office, each covering a range of topics, such as architecture, fashion, design, and art, offering a constant source of inspiration. The wall beside my desk is covered in family photos, featuring my husband, two boys, and of course our rescue dogs Javier and Willie Wearstler. 

W*: What’s your morning routine, before you start work?

KW: I start every morning at 6am with a strong espresso and then exercise, which at the moment is usually tennis. I play five to six times a week – either with friends or for a lesson – and I love it. My day-to-day at work varies, between meeting with clients, visiting vendors, travelling to project sites, or designing at the studio. In one day I can enjoy design sessions for interiors, architecture, products, and furniture. I love how each day can be completely different to the next; it is this amazing variety that inspires me most and keeps me on my toes, but I do like to keep a consistent morning routine to help me feel balanced and organised.

W*: Where do you currently live? What does your neighbourhood look like, and what do you like the most about it?

KW: I love our neighbourhood in Beverly Hills, with its beautiful architecture and palm tree-lined streets. We are so lucky to be surrounded by amazing restaurants, excellent shopping locations, an incredible creative community, and of course never too far from the ocean. 

Our house was originally built in 1926 as a Spanish Colonial, and then remodelled as a Georgian around 1934 by architect James E Dolena. We purchased the home in 2005 from the Broccoli family. Albert R Broccoli was the producer and creator of the James Bond films. The architecture and history make it distinctive. It has such a cool and rich Hollywood history. When we purchased the home, we added about 4,000 sq ft as the house needed to be adapted to modern living. The architectural additions and modifications were done historically. However, the furnishings are by a mélange of progressive contemporary furniture designers and artists, with important vintage furniture and curated unique finds from my travels. The house has an interior courtyard with the most beautiful garden that all the rooms on the ground floor look and open onto through tall glass doors. We love entertaining and opening up all the doors to the garden.

W*: What’s your favourite room in your home, and what does it look like?

KW: The kitchen is one of my favourite rooms in our home; it has such a magnetic pull, being the centre of life at home. It is the ultimate space where elevated form meets function. My kitchen features mixed metals – with the cabinetry exhibiting a handsome stainless steel with a warm gold brass trim. This cool metal appearance is subtly framed by a textured eggshell wallpaper. We have a stunning skylight that emits daytime streams of sun. Of course, accent lighting is so important for setting the mood of a space. I chose warm pendant lights with dimmable features, to allow for relaxed evenings by the table with the family sharing a meal. I love how the light interacts with the metal cabinets and our central marble countertop, diffusing a warming glow. I love our central countertop; the surface is so striking in contrast to the metal cabinetry, and provides a wonderful place for me to prepare a meal in the company of my friends and family, creating a truly open atmosphere. 

W*: If Wallpaper came for dinner, what would you cook us? What would the table setting look like?

KW: One of my favourite dishes is a pasta recipe from a friend that includes a whole roasted chicken and fresh pasta. It’s super quick, simple and fresh and is ideal to serve up for a large group. 

I love creating a tablescape; it is like creating a mini design installation for the meal to be centred around. I enjoy exploring varying heights and volumes and presenting contrasting materials to add textural interest. I like to step away from the standard uses of vases, dishes, and bowls, and use them to display objects in an unconventional way. For example, filling a champagne bowl with a vibrant floral display. Of course, lighting is everything, it sets the mood to a space – adorning a table setting with a variety of candles in varying heights will create an elegant ambience.

W*: What are your favourite places in LA right now, and why?

KW: LA has a special place in my heart. I recently guest-edited the Louis Vuitton City Guide for Los Angeles – which is a dream pairing of one of my favourite fashion houses and my home city. One of my favourite places right now is the Downtown LA Proper, which my studio designed in a historic California Renaissance Revival building. The rooftop restaurant Cara Cara has incredible views of the city and it’s really special to go and enjoy a meal there with my family and friends. Of course, I love shopping so I have some go-to spots such as The Webster, which retails my favourite fashion brands in a David Adjaye-designed store. For contemporary and vintage furniture I like The Window, Garde, Joel Chen’s expansive vintage store JF Chen, and Den, a showroom specialising in restoring 20th-century furniture. 

W*: Where are you finding inspiration these days?

KW: I find inspiration from a variety of sources: fashion, art, architecture, nature, photography, travel, social media. I have found social media to be such a powerful tool when sourcing inspiration. I regularly engage with my community on Instagram, Pinterest, Tik Tok and Twitter. The amazing aspect of social media is the incredibly diverse range of voices you can be exposed to; truly broadening your scope of influence. I subscribe to the outlook that finding inspiration from a rich variety of sources will allow you to discover your own authentic voice, and will nurture the creation of your own signature style. For me, each new project is an invitation to embark on a fascinating and unique journey. With design, I aim to tell evocative stories that are adventurous and full of texture, pattern and colour.

W*: What’s your next big launch?

KW: I am really excited to be working on some amazing collaborations with emerging talent, presenting these exclusively on my curatorial Gallery platform. I launched this platform towards the end of last year, debuting with the launch of the ‘Quelle Fête’ series by Rotganzen. This series was composed of five limited-edition works, inspired by the city of LA and reminiscent of a melted disco ball. Most recently, I launched a new collaboration with a long-time collaborator of mine, LA-based ceramicist Morgan Peck. I have previously worked with Morgan on a range of projects, including commissioning her to create a series of custom decor pieces and site-specific installations in Downtown LA Proper hotel. This latest collaboration, ‘Contour’, features nine designs including vases, plates, candlesticks, bowls, and large-scale mirrors, all exclusively available through Gallery. I admire Morgan’s signature freehand style, and the unique amorphous designs she has created, influenced by nature, rocks, and stone formations. I am so excited to see the upcoming launches with other fantastic designers shared with my international community. 

W*: You always collaborate with artisans and creatives, and last year you launched a series of new collaborations. What do you like the most about these collaborations, and how do you collaborate with these creatives?

KW: Towards the end of last year, I launched my online Gallery platform to offer a space dedicated to collaborating with emerging talent and creatives. I launched this initiative as I wanted to share the artists that inspire me most with my community around the world. These collaborations offer me the opportunity to work with a range of talent that I have always admired. One of my favourite aspects of my work is collaborating with different artists and designers, as I have the chance to expand my knowledge, pushing my creative boundaries as I learn new ways to approach craft and design. I am constantly learning and developing as a designer.

W*: What’s the last object or piece of furniture you bought?

KW: I recently bought a 1980s metal bench designed by Agenore Fabbri which has this incredible ribboned shape. 

W*: What’s your most recent, favourite design or art discovery?

KW: I love the work of contemporary American artist Loie Hollowell. She creates these transcendent colourful artworks that abstract bodily forms. I also recently found this incredible unsigned painting of a woman with this bold lavender hue. It now hangs in the lobby of the Downtown LA Proper above a ‘Colina Credenza’ from my collection and against the backdrop of a hand-painted mural by LA artist Abel Macias. It really brings the vignette together. 

W*: Favourite material to work with, and why?

KW: I have such a love for a range of interesting materials! I would have to say one of my favourites to work with is marble. I have a deep love for materials that echo the natural environment. Marble makes for such stunning designs, no matter the size – from a monumental central coffee table tying the room together, to a small objets d’art sitting peacefully on the mantelpiece. For example, our Malibu residence is located right on the beach, with an incredible view of the ocean. When we renovated the space, I wanted to include a terraced effect in the ground floor, leading you to the view of the ocean. We included incredible vertical structural moments made of a stunning marble; the marble has this beautiful movement reminiscent of the ocean we look out onto. Our countertops are made from a Calacatta stone, which has been honed and leathered, so it is very forgiving. These large installations of marble create the feeling reminiscent of walking on the beach. 

W*: What advice would you give to the next generation of creatives?

KW: It is so important to find your own voice, which of course can seem daunting at first. Remember that design is all about storytelling; each space has a unique and inspired narrative to tell. Finding your voice is a constant journey, one I embark on every day. It is continuously carved and reshaped as you explore new countries, narratives, design eras, the list goes on… Most importantly, don’t be afraid to take risks! Sometimes it is the most beautiful decor that comes from the most unexpected pairing. 

W*: If you hadn’t become a designer, what would you have been?

KW: An artist. I really like getting my hands dirty and experimenting! 

kellywearstler.com

The swathe of bucolic idyll that former creative director Richard Christiansen has carved out for himself on a hilltop in Los Angeles is truly the stuff of dreams. Anchored by a 1940s bungalow that Christiansen has lovingly reimagined to encompass a picturesque bathhouse and seven acres of verdant garden, Flamingo Estate is now as well known for its collections of vegetable-based candles, plant-scented bath and body products and its cornucopic boxes of farm-fresh produce as it is for its unbelievably stylish environs.

Christiansen’s ethos of bringing people back in touch with the beauty and bounty of nature couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Flamingo Estate’s home-delivered produce boxes came out of efforts to support local farmers whose traditional revenue streams of supplying restaurants and hotels came to a standstill in March 2020.

That then lead to the use of medicinal herbs to build out Flamingo Estate’s wellness line, the development of its first bottle of rosé wine, and then the launch of its own biointensive manuka honey – an especially significant product for Christiansen, seeing as his family are farmers and beekeepers in New South Wales, Australia.

In the lead-up to the holiday season, Christiansen has revealed some festive offerings that are bound to astound even the most jaded of bah humbuggers. First, there is Flamingo Estate’s inaugural cookbook, Fridays from The Garden, which compiles 150 recipes from chefs including Ella Murphy, Jo Ann Kim, and a foreword by Martha Stewart; the book essentially charts the arc of Flamingo Estate since its early days. Next, a limited-edition gingerbread house designed by Flamingo Estate’s close collaborator and comrade Kelly Wearstler.

Kelly Wearstler’s California Modern gingerbread house

California Modern in its aesthetic, the eye-catching gingerbread house is built by Balthazar’s pastry chef Mark Tasker, and only 100 will be made. Best of all, proceeds from the sale of the houses, which don’t come cheap, will benefit Structure, a charitable initiative of Better Shelter that helps communities rebuild, with sustainable housing, for example, following the occurrence of natural disasters.

‘After the year we’ve all had, it’s time for new traditions. We loved the idea of taking something iconic, and classic – then giving it a California spin,’ says Christiansen. ‘Kelly’s the reigning queen of the design world in Los Angeles. She’s the only person I wanted to collaborate with because I knew she would create something iconic, and bold. When I mentioned the idea, she jumped at it immediately, and she created something very special.’ He adds that the brief was simply: ‘Let’s build a type of gingerbread house we would actually like to live in.’

‘Gingerbread houses are one of the most traditional holiday items and so I wanted to give a contemporary feel to the classic treat,’ Wearstler says. ‘I also wanted to bring a little California into the design, so I was drawn to a classic midcentury modern home as a source of inspiration. The gingerbread base is the ideal canvas and is really elevated and accentuated by the checkerboard pattern.’

Christiansen concludes, ‘Central to everything we do at Flamingo Estate is the idea of bringing pleasure in your home. Whether that’s through your kitchen or bathroom. So when we started to think about the right charity, we wanted it to be for the home – and providing homes for people.’

INFORMATION

flamingoestate.com

Kelly Wearstler unveils the latest evolution of her brand, an expansion of her studio’s e-commerce platform to present the work of artists, craftspeople and other international creatives whose work she collects or features in her projects. The first iteration of the initiative is marked by the launch of a special edition of ‘Quelle Fête’ by Dutch art collective Rotganzen, five new versions of the artists’ Dalí-esque, melted disco balls inspired by the city of Los Angeles and available through Kelly Wearstler's Gallery. 

Kelly Wearstler x Rotganzen

‘Rotganzen’s work is unique, elevated and playful. The studio has an incredible dedication to creation, craft and experimentation, and of course the fun spirit of design,’ says Wearstler. The American designer first bought a Rotganzen piece for her home a couple of years ago, and then regularly introduced the collective’s work into her projects.

‘I am constantly curating, sourcing work from, and collaborating with artists and craftspeople for many of my projects. It is truly my passion,’ she adds. ‘It is these artisans and their work that make my projects shine.’

The five new pieces feature Rotganzen’s distinctive mirrored surfaces and melted forms, and their names evoke the city that’s home to Wearstler and her studio: ‘Tiny Dancer’, ‘LA Woman’, ‘Cracked Actor’, ‘Tiffany Queen’ and ‘Sunset People’. 

‘When we were asked to design an exclusive series for Kelly, we wanted to stay true to the concept of “Quelle Fête”, which is that they are a playful representation and a melancholic reminder of the great glamour clubs of the 1970s and 1980s,’ comment the artists. ‘We also wanted an homage to LA, Kelly’s hometown, and the city that inspired so many musicians. So, we designed five pieces based on music about LA. The leading soundtrack while designing became the track that captures LA so perfectly: Buddy Collette’s “Santa Monica”.’

Kelly Wearstler’s online shop

Kelly Wearstler’s e-commerce offers a curated selection of her home accessories, furniture, books, and more. This new initiative opens up the e-commerce platform to new horizons, expanding its reach through exclusive collaborations. ‘Incorporating artful objects in the home can be intimidating: I want this to be a place for people to discover new designers, artists and artisans, and see how they can use their works in their interior spaces,’ says Wearstler. 

‘Since I launched the e-commerce platform, we have continued to evolve and diversify,’ she continues. ‘There are so many amazing opportunities for designers and business owners, and I’m always exploring new ways to engage with my community.’ 

INFORMATION

‘Quelle Fête’ by Rotganzen is available from 14 October 2021, from $2,499

kellywearstler.com

Kelly Wearstler launches the ‘Transcendence’ collection, featuring eight furniture pieces, six lighting designs and a series of objects for the home.

A collection that ‘explores materiality and challenges scale’, the designs come from some of Wearstler’s most celebrated private interior projects, and act as an extension of the interior designer’s visual language, both expanding on recurring themes in her work and introducing new aesthetic directions. Each piece was designed by Weastler and produced in collaboration with craftspeople from the Southern California area. 

Kelly Wearstler furniture design: the ‘Trascendence’ collection

The point of departure for the collection, Wearstler explains, was ‘pushing the boundaries of each material, transcending the traditional form of each raw material.’ The collection includes the ‘Oblique’ series, inspired by a striped wooden dining table Wearstler originally designed for a residential project and later expanded into a series of tables declined in varying shapes and sizes featuring the striped motif made from angle-cut hardwood.

Another series of small tables is the ‘Triad’, also originally from a residential project and defined by large marble volumes wrapped in thick brass sheets. Moving on to storage furniture, the ‘Colina’ features a pair of monolithic, sculptural credenzas and one nightstand, designed with a plaster-like exterior which was hand-sculpted from resin contrasting with the walnut interior.

Other pieces include organic-shaped bowls and essential lighting features, which Wearstler widely employs throughout her interior projects to add depth and shape. The collection includes table lamps, sconces, pendants and chandeliers in a wide range of materials, from brass and bronze to glass, stone and alabaster.

The collection is defined by strong geometries, its pure lines enriched by the varied material palette and muted colours. She says: ‘I look to find tension in each piece, balancing the familiar with the unexpected to create something that is both inviting and provides a new perspective.

INFORMATION

kellywearstler.com

Making the next generation GMC Hummer a pure EV was a box-set worthy twist for a brand name better associated with brutish machismo. But the Hummer EV is coming, discarding the model’s gas guzzling, desert-busting image in favour of a pure electric go-anywhere machine that GMC hopes will be a trailblazer for zero-emission off-roading. In another unpredictable twist, the brand has turned to interior design guru Kelly Wearstler to give the Hummer EV a new home, albeit a virtual one, for the benefit of online media.

The Kelly Wearstler x GMC Hummer EV project pitches the idea of a desert pavilion that’s part Case Study minimalism, part So-Cal Googie. Embedded in the desert landscape, this virtual concept is designed for stashing your silent driving SUV to charge it up ready for the next challenge.

The new Hummer is due later this year, and while it might have softer, smoother manners, the car has lost none of its physicality. Wearstler describes the Hummer as ‘an incredible piece of architecture’, and her desert brutalism is a suitable partner.

Shaping spaces for cars is becoming increasingly crucial as EVs proliferate and vehicles start to serve as mobile battery packs that can give power back to the home in case of emergency. While companies like Aston Martin have focused on spectacular car storage spaces for collectors to hoard their four-wheeled treasures, there are also those looking to minimise the impact of parked cars. At the other end of the spectrum, Volvo have taken a decidedly less epic approach to shaping automotive spaces. Their recent New Garage Design Challenge was won by Tiam Maeiyat with a proposal for a garage that becomes part of the garden and the living space of a home. Intended to shield and charge the family Volvo XC40, the structure uses a rippling green roof with slots for photovoltaic cells and a form that makes the most of tight urban spaces.

INFORMATION

GMC Hummer EV

Kelly Wearstler 

Volvo XC40 Pure Recharge

Stretching across a triple lot on Malibu’s Broad Beach, this 1953 residence is the kind of rare find that sets the imagination racing. A timber-sided structure that stands out among its more contemporary neighbours, the four-bedroom house comes with generous gardens at one end, and a spacious deck, rolling sand dunes and unobstructed ocean views at the other. It also has a Hollywood pedigree: believed to have been built by Frank A Garbutt, a co-founder of Paramount Pictures, for his daughter, it was later acquired by actor Carroll O’Connor, star of the 1970s sitcom All in the Family. Yet, before designer Kelly Wearstler moved in last spring, the house had been on the market for three years, drawing little interest.

Wearstler, like many other affluent Angelenos, was in search of a beach house where her family could pass the pandemic months. She had already seen this property from the outside, as a good friend had once rented three doors down, and she was charmed by its original architecture, expansive windows and scenic location. ‘It even has a driveway where you can take your boat down from the house and just go all the way to the ocean,’ she enthuses, pointing out that her family are avid surfers. She tracked down the owner of the house and asked if he might be willing to let it for a few months; he agreed, with the caveat that he’d still be able to show the house to potential buyers.

Knowing this would be a fixed-term stay did not prevent Wearstler from giving the house an extensive overhaul. Out went the white shag carpet, and in came a mix of Californian and European midcentury pieces that looked at home amid the original timber panelling and shoji screen doors and ceilings: in the living room, for instance, Wearstler put 1970s seating by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for Cassina, and a 1950s ‘Control’ lamp, by American designer Mitchell Bobrick, that she has had for 12 years. Many of these were drawn from her extensive collection of vintage pieces, a reflection of Wearstler’s upbringing (her mother worked as an antiques dealer) and longtime passion. ‘I shop all over the world, and anytime I see anything that is unusual, I buy and store it in my warehouse,’ she explains. Having selected key pieces that would set the tone, she turned to Joel Chen, owner of fabled LA antiques emporium JF Chen, for the rest. ‘I’ve been purchasing things for projects from him for as long as I remember. He has a 30,000 sq ft store that stayed open [during the pandemic] because there’s a lot of room for social distancing. So I went and got a few pieces from him.’

Wearstler also introduced works by emerging talents to bring a fresh eclecticism to the house: in the entryway, Californian designer Chuck Moffit’s black leather bench on a delicate bronze frame contrasts with LA studio Base 10’s burly console, made of salvaged redwood and blackened using a combination of natural alchemical patination and shou sugi ban. Another charred wood piece, a side table formed of three tapered cylindrical volumes, is a contemporary take on a Senufo table by Belgian designer Arno Declercq, while a steel chair with a seat, seatback and armrests in white plaster, evoking a sculpture in progress, comes courtesy of Austrian designer Lukas Gschwandtner. From Angeleno ceramic artist Caroline Blackburn, Wearstler selected a richly textured vessel that beautifully complemented the organic forms of the living room furniture. 

Working with landscape designer Art Luna and local nursery Inner Gardens, Wearstler introduced lush tropical foliage in and around the building. Plants were particularly abundant in the solarium-turned-dining room, housed in a mix of early California and contemporary pots, overrunning the dining table and huddling up to an enormous Isamu Noguchi lamp suspended in the centre. With the windows open, they would sway in the ocean breeze, further blurring the boundaries between outdoors and in.

The house is an apparently effortless melange of design styles, rich in texture and mindful of context. Yet it diverges from Wearstler’s previous work (and, indeed, her usual LA home, a Spanish Colonial Revival building dating back to 1926) in its bohemian energy and intimacy. The spaces here were deliberately crafted with the expectation of an extended lockdown, emphasising ease of use and suited to relaxation and play. The office, despite its statement green marble table by Mario Bellini, is configured simply for the one or two days a week when Wearstler would work from home (on other days, she made the 70-minute drive to her studio, which continued to operate at 30 per cent capacity). Meanwhile, a family room comprises low-slung seating for just four: an Italian cognac leather sofa and a pair of Finnish lounge chairs, perfect for evenings spent playing cards and board games.

The virtues of the house became evident over time. Wearstler found an affinity for cooking during lockdown and took pleasure in the way the house’s galley kitchen opened into the family room. The family also made ample use of the outdoor spaces, setting up a big volleyball net and a place to have bonfires – as the pandemic eased, it proved a perfect set-up for entertaining friends from their quarantine pod. ‘I have two boys who are in high school, and [the pandemic] has been such an odd time for kids whose school and social lives came to a standstill, so I wanted to make it a really memorable experience for them,’ Wearstler recalls.

As it turns out, her reinvention of the house made an impression in more ways. Blown away by her design, the owner commissioned new photographs for a real estate listing website, and found a buyer in just a month – a young Silicon Valley type with a love of surfing, who was inspired by Wearstler to retain and restore the midcentury building. ‘You could have built a house three times the size of this one, which is what everybody unfortunately does on Broad Beach. But he’s not tearing the house down, just fixing up the original bathrooms and doing a little more landscaping. That was amazing to hear,’ says Wearstler (who took her furniture back, as there are quite a few pieces she ‘would never part with’). Looking back at her Broad Beach days, she relished the opportunity to breathe life back into an underappreciated building that was unlike anywhere she had lived before: ‘It was about bringing together old spirit and new spirit to create unique experiences that make every room memorable.’

INFORMATION

kellywearstler.com

Spurred by an invitation to collaborate with Danish silver and steel makers Georg Jensen, LA-based designer Kelly Wearstler searched the brand’s archives for inspiration. Ironically, Wearstler found a muse for her larger-scale pieces in the small 1968 Möbius brooch – a silver jewellery design without beginning or end. The piece, and its spirit of boundlessness, informs the new ‘Frequency’ collection, a six-piece collaboration between Georg Jensen and Wearstler that uses wave motifs throughout. The line represents the brand’s first significant steel collaboration with an American designer, and a continued shift towards pieces outside of classic dinnerware.

‘We wanted to move into some other rooms of the house, to think of a collection that had more to do with architecture and furniture and to complement those types of worlds as opposed to setting a table,’ Nicholas Manville, senior vice president of design at Georg Jensen, said. ‘We thought of no other person for the job, really.’

Georg Jensen, founded in 1904, in Denmark, first arrived on American shores in 1915, long before it began working with steel in 1941. The Scandinavian designs were welcomed most significantly by the West Coast, Manville said, informing the choice of a distinctly Californian, forward-thinking designer for the collaboration. They immediately looked to Wearstler, whose idiosyncratic hotel projects (Viceroy, Proper, Case) as well as residential designs have helped define contemporary Californian eclecticism, with a maximalist interest in colour, pattern, and texture.

Wearstler, on her part, noted that the title of the collection and its distinctive pattern are meant to evoke ‘California and the movement of the ocean and the landscape, and also repetition which I use often in my designs.’ The collection pieces include ‘Hurricane’ candle holders, bowls, a tray and a vase – versatile pieces ranging from $100-$250 – all using a seamless, rippling effect.

‘They can go together, but each has its own voice,’ Wearstler said, adding that she designed them to be both ‘friendly and sculptural’ to complement any style of home. During a visit to Wearstler’s Los Angeles home, a roughly 100-year-old Georgian-style estate furnished with postmodern, Memphis, and contemporary design pieces, Wearstler displayed pieces from the collaboration; several were also on display in her offices, located in a classic 1960s Harold Levitt office building.

The collaboration will be ongoing. Wearstler mentioned ideas for other sorts of unconfirmed items, such as ice buckets, even at one point floating the thought of a coffee table – which would become the largest item by far in Georg Jensen’s catalogue, in yet another nod to the Californian sense of boundlessness.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Kelly Wearstler website and the Georg Jensen website

Renowned luxury chocolatier, Compartes, has opened a flagship location in the newly designed Westfield Century City in Los Angeles. It is designed by hospitality specialist Kelly Wearstler, known for her glamorous mid-century modern hotel interiors, including the Hollywood Proper Residences. Wearstler also put her exotic Morocco-meets-California touch on some of the public spaces in the new 200 venue, open-air Westfield shopping center.

Inside the patinaed copper exterior (hand painted by three separate artists), this intimate chocolate boutique, founded by Jonathan Grahm, holds the largest assortment of the famous bars – 1500 in total – featuring an array of ingredients from truffle, honey peanut butter, mango saffron, pecan pie, popcorn and even crunchy potato chips.

Onyx pendant lighting fixtures from Mexico which took six months to hand carve, shed light on the display case and the walls of green marble and antiqued brass. Other surfaces are hand plastered, while hand painted tiles and custom brass fixtures abound – from the cash register to the whipped cream canisters and even the refrigerator.

Rising from a marble and wooden inlaid patterned floor, the focal display case holds hand-blown glass domes and showcases chocolate dipped fruits and signature turtles with roasted nuts and handmade salted caramel. Sculptor Louise Nevelson was the inspiration for the black matte wooden wall behind the counter which is made with three-dimensional cut-outs in geometric shapes. A gold étagère holding some of the prized products carries a crown of gold palm trees referencing the motif on the wrapping of its most popular candy bar, California Love.

People strolling by will find the brand’s first ever pick up window where dark and milk chocolate flows out of two gold taps 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The rich and creamy frozen chocolate concoction (a cross between a soft serve yogurt and a milkshake), is made with only two ingredients: milk and chocolate, using a state of the art process that freezes them together.

Served in a cup, you can add a birthday cake bar, a favourite childhood cereal (such as Lucky Charms) or an edible 24 karat gold topping to the frozen chocolate for true decadence. With Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe and Oprah among its fans, it’s easy to see why this brand has enjoyed a high-profile following since the 1950s.

INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Compartes website

ADDRESS

Compartes
Westfield Century City
10250 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles CA 90067

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In 20 quick years, The Rug Company has blazed the trail for tasteful, contemporary rugs with its blend of traditional craftsmanship and modern aesthetics, so much so that many have come to expect nothing less. Not only has The Rug Company championed the use of fine raw materials and the quality of Nepalese weaving, it’s also pioneered the recruitment of designers outside of the interiors world to try their hand at creating rug patterns – a move that has garnered much success.

To celebrate this monumental birthday, The Rug Company is launching a celebratory capsule collection of five new designs from some of its most lauded collaborators. Alexander McQueen, Kelly Wearstler, Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood and The Rug Company co-founder Suzanne Sharp are the creatives behind the new works. Debuted during London Design Festival and now exhibited in New York, the ‘TRC20’ collection will tour the company’s showrooms worldwide.

Like the company’s comprehensive offering, the ‘TRC20’ collection showcases an array of styles. From Kelly Wearstler’s expressive brushstrokes that have been translated in copper-toned silk on Tibetan wool, and Paul Smith’s recognisable stripes that feature an array of colours which seamlessly blend into each other, to Alexander McQueen’s photographic floral still-life design that has been produced in a limited edition of 40; each rug is a testament to the caliber of the company’s artisans who turn each concept into a reality.

Vivienne Westwood’s magnified tartan, which features her custom created 2007 ‘Gold Label’ pattern that’s been oversized for graphic appeal, and Suzanne Sharp’s geometric ‘Bonavita’ design – inspired by the tiles of an old Maltese church – are no different with their crisp sharpness and invigorating colour palettes. 

The collection’s significance has been captured through the lens of photographer Mary McCartney, who shot each designer in their studio space and filmed them behind the scenes, for an extra special look at the creative process. Filled with candid divulgements and peeks into rarely-seen worlds, the images celebrate the personal and the artistic, as The Rug Company continues to be.

INFORMATION

The 'TRC20' exhibition continues until 22 October. For more information, visit The Rug Company website

ADDRESS

The Rug Company
88 Wooster Street
10012
New York

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The ever-growing Focus/16 opens at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour for its yearly contribution to London Design Festival, and this time Wallpaper* are getting involved in the action with an installation of our favourites from the collections at London's essential one-stop-shop.

This year’s iteration promises more range than ever, with 15 new showrooms, and 127 events set across the six days. Since its upgrade from specialising in the decorative side of design, to becoming a retail panorama and crucial point of reference for the capital’s design firms and international visitors, the west London space now harbours a refined offering of the unique portfolio of luxury European brands and local marquees. Fresh in from Milan’s Salone del Mobile are highlights including Galotti & Radice's sophisticated vanity table, playful side tables from Porada, and an indulgent velvet sofa from Edra. These are joined by the talks from the likes of Patricia Moroso, and a specialised exhibition that explores that narrowing bridge between art and design with featured works from international designers from David Collins Studio and Formafantasma to Kelly Wearstler.

With Wallpaper* following the Design Centre’s evolution, our editors trawled 120 showrooms and 600 brands to present our top Design Centre picks. In a layered set up, starting with intriguing textured materials from Rubelli and Kirkby Design, these are enriched by a decorative 1950s Cole & Son wallpaper. The range of the wondrous finishes extends to the furniture pieces, with Cecccoti’s curvaceous wood and verde mediterraneo marble 'Fagiolo' tables, and Armani Casa’s 'Halcon' vase of pure Murano.

And the diverse blend doesn’t stop there, Focus/16 is having a moment for craft too with a bespoke 3ft aerial installation as their centrepiece to the event, and workshops from talents including RCA graduate Stuart Carey ceramics.

Since its upgrade from specialising in the decorative side of design, the west London space now harbours a refined offering of luxury design players from across the globe. 

These are joined by the talks from the likes of Patricia Moroso, and a specialised exhibition that explores that narrowing bridge between art and design.

Honing in on our favourites from the show, the Wallpaper* installation is an eclectic mix of the most compelling pieces in a layered set up.

This year’s iteration promises more range than ever, with 15 new showrooms, and 127 events set across the six days.

And the diverse mix doesn’t stop there, Focus/16 is having a moment for craft too with a bespoke 3ft aerial installation as their centrepiece to the event, and skilled workshops from talents including RCA graduate Stuart Carey ceramics.

INFORMATION

Focus/16 is on view from 18 until 23 September. For more information, visit the Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour website

ADDRESS

Lots Road
London SW10 0XE

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Columbia Square is the site of the historic CBS broadcast facility, and in recent years major media players like Viacom – as well as companies like Neuehouse and Fender – have moved in. Newly added to this list is Hollywood Proper Residences – a property that boasts 200 luxury units – conceived especially for the throngs of musicians, producers, writers, directors and actors who head to Los Angeles each year to work on projects. Available furnished for stays of over 30 days and up to 11 months – and unfurnished for longer term stays – the addition marks the area’s return to being a hub of creativity in Los Angeles.

To create suitable environs, Proper tapped Los Angeles-based Kelly Wearstler Interior Design to conceptualise the interiors of the property’s residences and the four penthouses – which range from 2,172 to 2,582 sq ft – nestled at the intersection of Sunset and Gower.

Wearstler departed from her typical Hollywood Regency style and used Los Angeles as a starting point, taking inspiration from its warm weather and the area’s storied Hollywood history. ‘The Hollywood Proper concept combines a sophisticated, neutral colour palette, richly burnished metals, custom wood flooring, fine wood cabinetry, and infusions from local artisans and artists,’ says Wearstler. ‘The suites feature contemporary furniture, art and sculpture, complemented by vintage pieces.’

The designer also left her mark on the lobby of Hollywood Proper Residences. ‘The lobby is layered in rich, neutral tones and a few thoughtfully selected furniture and art pieces, evoking a sense of invitation and lounging,’ she says. The décor, she adds, is ‘my idea of California right now: modern and relaxed’.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Hollywood Proper Residences' website

ADDRESS

Hollywood Proper Residences
1550 N El Centro Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90028

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From delicate and muted minimalism to eye-popping, era-hopping fancies, here are the designers who know how to mix, match, edit, illuminate, decorate and otherwise create sublime spaces… 

To celebrate our 200th issue, we decided to take our Power 100 and transform it into a meaty, two-ton Power 200; an upscaled calibration of design achievement. Or rather 100+100 (normal disservice will be resumed next year) – including the top 20 interior designers we who time and time and again create and compose the most seductive of spaces.

Kicking off our envy-inducing line up is the work of industry legends like Christian Liaigre, Dimore Studio, David Rockwell, Stéphane Parmentier and Roman & Williams. And it wouldn’t be a Wallpaper* celebration without a nod to minimalism, precise edits and arresting ideas. For that, we turn to Dorothee Meilichzon, Peter Marino, Chahan Minassian, Joseph Dirand and Gwenael Nicolas, the latter of whom is a Fendi favourite.

We’re not all about muted colours and clean lines though. India Mahdavi injects life through vivid hues and Mathias Kiss brings an artistic perspective to the table. And then, of course, there are those dedicate themselves to the world of hospitality, making those hotels and restaurants we can’t wait to visit and can’t bear to leave… Hong Kong-based Andre Fu, Toronto’s Yabu Pushelberg and London’s go-to man Martin Brudnizki, we’re blaming (and thanking) you.

Rounding off our selection of sumptuous space makers is queen rich materials Fiona Barratt-Campbell and big budget boho guru Francis Sultana. When the day is done and we need respite from the world or a cosy hideaway we turn to Ilse Crawford, Kelly Wearstler and Rose Uniacke, naturally. Who else?

See the Power 200 in full here

INFORMATION

See the Power 200 in full