I have been a client at 4th floor London hairdressers for as long as Wallpaper* has been around. The founder of the salon, Richard Stepney, is a loyal Wallpaper* subscriber since 1997, contributor (he cut hair for a week as part of Wallpaper* Handmade's 'Street Barbershop’ built by Studio Mumbai and Michael Anastassiades) and the subject of a Vinson View.

I used to visit Richard every five weeks and if I am honest, I don't miss the haircut as much as the banter and, in light of the last few months of cancelled appointments, I thought I would have a virtual chat about the world of hair. I had a dip into Wallpaper’s digital archive from the safety of my own desk and sent off some questions for Richard to answer.

Yayoi Kusama, June 2012

PN: There are many people who regularly get their hair dyed but haven't had access to a colourist the past few months. Would you recommend a DIY job something like Yayoi Kusama’s red bob on our June 2012 cover? And what do you think of wigs as a cover-up option?

RS: The success of DIY hair colouring depends on knowing that you’ve got the right product, there’s treachery on those shelves, be careful. Trying to emulate a professional colourist’s work is practically just not possible, so going bold à la Kusama is a great idea. It’s not a tattoo after all. Many women that have coloured their hair for a number of years are intrigued as to what their natural colour would actually be, now’s the chance to find out – if you’re brave enough. Wigs nearly always look terrible unless they are crafted individually for the wearer, and it’s even worse if it’s supposed to be a secret. Andy Warhol got it right but he was Andy Warhol. 

The claw, November 2014

PN: How long is the big beard trend staying with us?

RS: Well that image by Torbjørn Rødlan somewhat revolting, so hopefully it will only continue with men who can use cutlery effectively. Actually, this lockdown has allowed a lot of men to relax their shaving habits. Not necessarily to go full Grizzly Adams but beards are here to stay for now.

Easy lover, November 2018

PN: The hair in this photo of Jibriil Ollow by Sofie Middernacht and Maarten Alexander is an excellent example of a short back and sides, which must be the classic request. You always give me more on top, but nothing quite like this. I love that this is totally controlled but made to look like it's not.

RS: Absolutely, the short back and sides suits almost everyone in one form or another, essentially it slightly reshapes the head away from its natural roundness. This is a great example of barbershop grooming with a personalised finish. Business underneath – party on the top. 

Death in Venice, September 2008

PN: I think the boys look a little like me after my shampoo at 4th Floor. I have always had a soft spot for that kind of Flock of Seagulls look, especially when making a pilgrimage to Carlo Scarpa’s Brioni cemetery in our September 2008 story. Is this look still working 12 years on?

RS: I think they look great, they are young, stylish and beautiful so yes, they do look like you fresh from the backwash. Is this what you’d call directional hair – it's all going in different directions though so perhaps not. I like these looks as underneath the slightly extreme styling you can see that there is a good haircut, we’d just wear it differently now, hopefully with a more natural finish. Anyway, we all look our best against a Scarpa backdrop.

Curtain call, September 2015

PN: With no access to salons, have you been seeing a lot more fringes? I particularly like this from Brigitte Niedermair’s September 2015 shoot.

RS: I think a lot of people have just been cutting their own fringe, a long fringe is something that can look great to others but can be just plain irritating to the wearer.

Human nature, September 2015

PN: At Wallpaper* we love matching everything, interiors and fashion in particular. This is is a case of matching your hair to your art, which I am sure you appreciate considering the well-chosen and well-hung works in your salon. This shoot is by artist Marc Quinn of dancer Jenny Bastet.

RS: I think this refers to style in the widest sense, in that haircuts should usually reflect the wearer's personal politics and this would include their taste in art and design. Perhaps not as literally as in this image but a haircut has to fit more than just the head and this one certainly does.

Karl’s cut, October 2009

PN: Richard, you also cut my husband Álvaro’s hair. He’s been in Florence and hasn't seen you for a long time and his locks are getting longer by the day. Aside from Karl Lagerfeld, who shot this self-portrait for us in Versailles when he was guest editor in 2009, is a ponytail on a man ever ok?

RS: No, not anymore. The topknot or man-bun has been a more recent version, but I’m afraid a ponytail has too many associations with times gone by. I think to cultivate one now would be seen as an affectation, a little like being a leader of government and having studiously messy hair. Álvaro has perfected the Chelsea side-flick anyway so he’ll be fine.

The white queen, September 2013

PN: You cropped my hair last on March 19th, and I asked for it as short as possible to last the whole summer, not knowing when I get to see you again. I have seen quite a few DIY cuts with clippers on Instagram and apparently clipper sales have soared recently. Is this kind of short tight crop just really practical, modern, and perfect for 2020?

RS: Absolutely, and if someone is thinking of cutting their own hair with clippers this all overcrop is the best shape to go for. It is, of course, practical but it can also look great on both men and women. Obviously, it’s not for everyone but maybe this time is a good opportunity to try a short cut. For men, I would avoid trying to achieve the faded blend that a skilled barber does so well. For women I would say be careful, it’s a very fine line between Jean Seberg and Sinead O’Connor.

Demon seed, September 2019 

PN: I have straight hair and always wanted curls. What would you say to a client that turned up with a mood board for her new look with this Brigitte Niedermair image on it?

RS: I would say that they are in the wrong salon. But I would love their adventure and ambition. Something as extreme as this is clearly not functional for everyday hair-wear but if someone shows this as inspiration they would be a great client to work with.

INFORMATION
Find the latest edition of the Picky Nicky coloum and download the latest issue of Wallpaper* for free here

For the past 16 years, my husband and I have spent the festive holidays somewhere warm, and that means New Year’s Eve typically spent in a resort. The first was in Jamaica, where we holidayed with old friends and met new ones, Tina Lutz and Justin Morris of Lutz Morris (W*246).

In 2004, we went to the Chedi Muscat hotel and were invited, or let’s say instructed, to participate in (pay for) a gala dinner. Tables were for set for six or eight, and we nervously sat at one, chancing our luck with the other hotel guests. As it happened, we did well: we shared the table with Michael and Carolin from Munich, and, 15 years on, we have been to each other’s weddings and on holiday together, just as with Tina and Justin.

In 2017, we spent New Year’s Eve with Nina Yashar, of Nilufar Gallery, and her partner Angelo at the Hotel Esencia in Mexico. The food was OK and the entertainment thankfully brief, but we lucked out again with the company; I got the advance lowdown on Nilufar’s Lina Bo Bardi exhibition.

Picky Nicky's 2020 travel goals

1. 1. Visit Wildland in the Scottish Highlands and stay in one of its newly renovated houses.
   2. Go to Malaga, in southern Spain, stay at Finca Cortesin and visit designer David Marshall.
   3. Celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the Hotel Il San Pietro di Positano on Italy’s Amalfi Coast.
   4. Return to Alto Adige, in northern Italy, visit vintners Cantina Tramin and Alois Lageder, and revisit Matteo Thun’s Vigilius Mountain Resort.
   5. Head for St Ives, Cornwall, to see Jamie Fobert Architects’ Tate gallery extension.
   6. See more of Greece, and spend more time swimming in the Aegean.Empty list

Resorts may feel obliged to lay on a fancy New Year’s Eve night, or perhaps it’s just a way to milk a captive audience? As a guest, you can feel trapped, staring at a buffet full of excess and, no doubt, waste, with lobster and salmon and all sorts of cooking stations offering as much as you can eat and so much you just can’t. It’s never as good as the à la carte menu, but you must opt in and pay, even though you’ve already handed over top dollar for high season and the seven-night minimum stay.

Days are often short, as we’re usually around the equator, so we mostly just want to sneak off early from the event to get some sleep, but then can’t sleep because of all the partying going on. So, rather than 1 January being my ‘stop, reset’ day, instead it’s September 1; it’s when I set my goals for the period ahead and get cracking on new projects after a month-long August break. After all, 31 December is not when everyone celebrates New Year – such as the Chinese guests who were at Amanoi in Vietnam with us last New Year’s Eve – so then you find that half the guests are dressed up while others are wearing trainers.

We were considering Amanpuri in Thailand this year until we were told about its mandatory supplement. A New Year’s Eve dinner event, with one glass of champagne, food and entertainment, was going to cost us $5,200. Last March, I went to Rajasthan to celebrate the Holi festival, which welcomes spring, with fashion designer Saloni Lodha. It was the most joyous few days I can ever remember. If a resort laid on fun like that at New Year, I would sign up, cough up and shut up.

INFORMATION

 Nick Vinson, also known as Picky Nicky, has been an editor at Wallpaper* since 2002, and pens the monthly Vinson View column in Wallpaper* Magazine. Subscribe here

You work in luxury goods, your brand or client is hosting an important event and you have hired a great catering company to serve champagne, wine and canapés. Why would you think that it is OK for you and your team to welcome guests while munching a mouthful of food?

Just recently, I was introduced to the new communications director of a luxury house by the CEO at an in-store event, and the new boy greeted me with a gobful of filo pastry. All that visible munching and masticating while speaking is just yucky.

On another occasion, at pre-dinner drinks for a very smart Mayfair restaurant that was launching its new private dining salon with an A-list crowd of tastemakers, I met with the company’s PR, who was very happy to meet Picky Nicky – but would not shake my hand as he told me he had a chewed olive stone in his fist.

Rule No 1: If it’s your event, leave the canapés for the guests, eat beforehand to make sure you have the stamina for the night ahead and tell your team that a no-canapé rule applies if they are working.

Jeremy Langmead, our editor-in-chief when I joined Wallpaper* in 2003, was a champion of the no-canapé rule, not only for hosts but for W* team members out and about. I must say I quite liked the idea and adopted it. In those days, you might pack in 20 events a day. Today, it’s a lot fewer, but on average there could be three to five a week (and hundreds during Salone del Mobile each April in Milan). I just drink water, and pass on the snacks, although I will Instagram a good-looking Prada tray with signature anchovy, lemon and butter sandwiches.

As to what to serve, I turned to the high priestess of party planning, Fiona Leahy of the eponymous London-based creative event agency, to double-check the rules. We discussed and agreed: offerings should be bite-sized – a canapé is not a meal. Avoid anything that leaves guests with a stick or a stone, and anything on a fork or a spoon, as the last thing people need to do is to spend the evening gripping the remains of something or distracted by the search for an empty tray. No foam, no froth, no crumbling filo pastry; just keep it simple – no one needs an exciting canapé. Leahy served up my favourite bite (the one I break the rule for), a truffled cheese toasty, at the launch of the Louis Vuitton Windows book at Assouline. Hers, naturally, were LV-monogrammed on a custom-made grill.

Napkins are a must, and should only be linen or cotton, and not much more than 15cm square. Black paper napkins are naff and finding discarded paper napkins of any colour among fine watches (as I did recently) is as bad as open-mouth masticating.

How to get canapés right

Almonds are always a good option for the plant-based purists, though they must be offered in a dish with a scoop to serve yourself, and with a napkin to hand.

Cheese toasties, with or without truffle, should not be more than 4cm square. And should be served warm.

Chunks of good Parmesan. The best is the Vacche Rosse Parmigiano Reggiano, made from the milk of an ancient breed in Emilia-Romagna.

Crudités are fine, but avoid cherry tomatoes as they might squirt.

Avoid anything too greasy.

Cakes, tarts and chocolates are not canapés. There is no need to offer sugar.

Focus on the quality of the ingredients, rather than the quantity of canapés.

Make sure that you have enough waiters with empty trays to take dirty glasses and used napkins away. Guests should never feel they must put them with the new drinks or canapés. 

As originally featured in the October 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*247)

You are in a great hotel, somewhere fabulous; it’s the summer; perhaps you packed well, perhaps you did not, but you need a pair of sunglasses, hat, swimsuit or a pair of sandals. Or you just fancy having a nose around to discover a local brand, or perhaps an object made nearby, or a vintage piece to take home. Something you could never find otherwise. Of course, the best thing is to head out of the hotel and do the groundwork yourself, but you are on holiday and the hotel is exquisitely designed, so the hotel’s gift shop should have just what you need.

Instead, you are faced with a random assortment of items, bought because the receptionist’s cousin and the assistant director of rooms’ neighbour made them or, worse, the hotel owner’s husband/wife/mistress/partner thought they were pretty. The offering is shockingly overlooked. It’s counter-intuitive, since hotel owners really want to keep you on their property and charge things to your room.

Things are moving in the right direction at Aman resorts. In 2017, Karen Schneider joined the company after working for the likes of Saks and Neiman Marcus in the US. Her job is to refine the offering and develop exclusive products for the group’s 34 properties, such as Frescobol Carioca shorts in custom prints and items sourced locally to each resort – like the home accessories by Catherine Denoual Maison that I bought recently at Amanoi in Vietnam. In October, a stand-alone store will open at Amanpuri on Phuket, in a new pavilion designed by a leading Japanese architect (to be revealed to our readers exclusively later in the year).

I am impressed by Four Seasons’ The Surf Club in Miami, which now houses a branch of New York gallery Les Ateliers Courbet. With brands including Lobmeyr, Nymphenburg and Puiforcat, and pieces by designers including Tadao Ando and Aldo Bakker, its edit reflects Miami’s design credentials and lives happily with the Richard Meier architecture and Joseph Dirand interiors. And for your beach essentials, there is the À la Mer boutique next door, run by the Istanbul brand Haremlique, which also make the great fringed towels stocked by Aman.

Most adventurous and fun of all is a tie-up between MatchesFashion.com and Pellicano Hotels that has turned a 1930s boat into a pop-up shop filled with fashion and accessories. Over recent weeks, the yacht made its way from Hotel Il Pellicano in Porto Ercole to La Posta Vecchia near Rome, stopping at the group’s newest property, Mezzatorre in Ischia. Hoteliers, it’s time to shake things up.

Swimwear: You can’t go wrong with Orlebar Brown, Eres and Lisa Marle Fernandez.
Sweaters and T-shirts: Polo shirts with hotel logos are fine – for the staff. Instead stock some unisex crew-neck cashmere in basic colours.
Sandals: Tuscany’s Hotel Il Pellicano has just launched its own range with Birkenstock. Follow its lead and offer something different.
Eyewear: Wayfarers and Aviators would be a good start.
Local craft: Source the work of the best, most respected local craftsmen. Guests will be pleased to buy original art gifts that they won’t find at the airport.
Vintage and antiques: Hook up with a good local dealer so clients can trust the edit and provenance.
Books: Yes, we do want to learn about the area and country, and no, we don’t want spa books.

As originally featured in the July 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*244)

One December during Design Miami, architect Patrick McInerney and I drove out to Palm Beach to check out some Edward Durell Stone and Addison Mizner architecture, visit Tomas Maier’s store (now closed) and take lunch at Bice (verdict on the last: stick to Milan). The car we were given from Avis on Collins Avenue was a ghastly blue Ford Mustang with MUSTANG emblazoned on the doors in big black letters. Being spotted parking the hideous thing on Collins Avenue was a credential crush if ever there was one.

Another time, after flying 11.5 hours to Los Angeles, a shortage of cars meant my husband and I had to wait in line for around 80 minutes, only to be told by Mavis from Avis (yes, and her nails were on-brand red) that the car we had ordered was ETA unknown. After rejecting a Jeep (no covered trunk for please-steal-me Vuitton luggage), we took the only other vehicle available: a bright red RAM 1500 pick-up truck. That’s almost 6m long, 1.9m tall and so high off the ground it should come with retractable steps. When we finally arrived at the condo where we were staying, our hosts, Masako and Jan, ignored the truck as it pulled up and phoned us to ask if we’d gone to the wrong address. Next day we handed it back.

Take the train: until the hire-car sector improves, fly to Zurich then take the scenic Bernina Express train, via Chur, and reach St Moritz in three hours and 20 minutes. sbb.ch. Illustrator: Danae Diaz

Picky Nicky

More hire-car antics happened on a trip via Milan Linate. Masako arrived ahead and nabbed herself a Maserati Levante when her booked vehicle was unavailable – the first time I heard of a decent upgrade. I flew in with a pair of friends, let’s call them the Chans, who had booked an Audi A6 Avant with winter tyres. Also unavailable, it was substituted with an Alfa Romeo Stelvio, which got us to St Moritz OK. But the next morning, after a night in the cold, it stalled at the first incline. Hertz at Linate knew we were headed for the snow, but the car was hardly suitable for the mountains and the diesel was starting to freeze. After hours on the phone with Hertz Switzerland (Italy just hung up), the car was towed away. Since no replacement was available, Mr Chan bossed Hertz into paying for a chauffeur-driven Mercedes to take us all back to Milan.

Stay in style: with seven art-filled rooms, a charming host and a decent breakfast, the Villa Flor guesthouse in Switzerland's Engadine Valley ticks all the boxes. villaflor.ch.

The car you hire is rarely actually available when you turn up to collect; instead there is stress and delay for everyone. The haggling usually involves a trade-up, and I am convinced there is a bonus scheme for staff to up-sell and get you to spend extra. Substitutions are rife and generally it’s something less chic and in an ugly colour that screams ‘this is a rental’.

Somebody really needs to step in and offer a global premium car rental service, complete with a meet-and-greet at arrivals to walk you to your discreetly chic car – the one you actually booked.

How car-hire companies could give us an easier ride...

Edit the fleet. More depth and fewer choices of model would mean fewer substitutions.
Cut the heinous colours. Limos should come in one colour only: black.
Offer more electric or low-emission vehicles. And ditch the diesel, please.
Axe the reselling apps and sites. They add to the problem and create confusion and delays at pick up.
Deal with... the rampant staff shortages at smaller locations.
End the conspiracy of the lack of petrol stations near return locations. Make it easy for people to return the car with a full tank if they want to.
Offer a premium meet-and-greet service at airports. And connect it with real-time flight arrivals so no one has to wait.

As originally featured in the June 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*243)

If I am in Milan, which is often, chances are any given morning I will visit Marchesi, the pasticceria cum caffè in via Santa Maria alla Porta. Founded in 1824, it operates out of a frescoed double-fronted building dating from 1770, in a smart neighbourhood a brisk five-minute walk from the Park Hyatt Hotel. I skip the hotel’s well-rounded breakfast offer for the classic Italian caffè and brioche. I’ve been going to Marchesi for 15 years, as its delicious coffee is served in a cup and saucer of the best possible form, its wide and low bowl the perfect proportion for taste, look and feel. The brioche, which is produzione propria (meaning made on the premises) is, in my opinion, among the best in the city, with its caked-on baked sugar or layers filled with sweet fruit.

The interior is unchanged since forever, there’s standing room only and the staff come with loads of personality, as do the chic customers, who descend on the café in waves. Yet the baristas still manage to juggle their orders with such speed and skill that I wonder what the point is of the queues for coffee in the UK and US.

Studio lines: publisher of contemporary design products Thomas Eyck opens his first store in Kerstraat 163, Amsterdam. The 140 sq m unit opens in May with works by Studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters (see above), Dick van Hoff, RaR and Irma Boom.

Until now I always expected Mr Marchesi senior to pass on the running of the place, whenever he is ready, to the next generation of the Marchesi clan, as is the Italian tradition. But then Prada just announced it has bought 80 per cent of the business. I am sure, however, that Signora Prada and Signore Bertelli are not going to mess with my breakfast. They’ll know the baking must be undertaken on the premises, by a dedicated team that starts work each morning at 5am. I’ll expect to see a new branch soon in Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, as Prada recently took the lease on an entire quadrant, where as well as retail it will be providing a restaurant, a café and exhibition spaces for the Fondazione Prada.

Interestingly enough, Marchesi is not the only historic Milanese café or restaurant to expand. Bice, another of my regular haunts in the city (for broccoli rather than brioche), has, in addition to the Milan original, nine locations in the US, four in Mexico, three in Dubai, three in Kuwait, plus outposts in Buenos Aires, Madrid, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Johannesburg and Tokyo. Having sampled the food in Palm Beach, I wont be rushing to the rest. However, this hasn’t dampened my enthusiasm for the original. Sant’Ambroeus has five locations in the US, and Cova, which recently became part of LVMH, already has two Tokyo locations, four in Shanghai, ten in Hong Kong and, rather oddly, several cafés aboard Celebrity Cruises liners.

I am slightly puzzled by the ‘Oatmeal mousse with Baileys’, referred to as ‘an Italian classic cake’ on the Shanghai menu. Perhaps something got lost in translation.

Uomo at the Duomo: in June, Uomo celebrates 60 years with a line-up of Florence-based brands, like Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo and Emilio Pucci (see its Duomo print, above), making it a tough call between this event and the concurrent Art Basel and Design Miami/Basel.

Uomo at the Duomo: in June, Uomo celebrates 60 years with a line-up of Florence-based brands, like Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo and Emilio Pucci (see its Duomo print, above), making it a tough call between this event and the concurrent Art Basel and Design Miami/Basel.

Other unique breakfast locations

Stefania, Florence
The only pasticceria that competes with Marchesi for my pastry affections. As at Marchesi, the pastries are made on the premises. via Guglielmo Marconi 26

The Oyster Inn, Waiheke Island
Chef Cristian Hossack serves up Kiwi-grown produce, the best savouries and fresh juices. 124 Ocean View Road, Oneroa

Farmshop at Brentwood Country Mart, LA
Breakfast crafted California-style using the best domestic ingredients, with the added benefit of tables outside under a constant blue sky. 225 26th Street

Hotel Thoumieux, Paris
In the splendid décor by India Mahdavi and M/M Paris, Jean-François Piège serves up a proper treat. For hotel guests only. 79 rue Saint-Dominique, 7e

Chiltern Street Firehouse, London
Chef Nuno Mendez’s brunch menu ticks all the boxes, providing you are lucky enough to secure a table. One Chiltern Street, W1

As originally featured in the June 2014 issue of Wallpaper* (W*183)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Marchesi website

When I checked into my room at the Park Hyatt Tokyo for the first time, in 2006, I got to sample Aesop skin and haircare products and have been using them ever since. I took the products home and continued to use the 50ml containers for a number of years, refilling them over and over when travelling.

The Four Seasons hotel group claims to have been the first to introduce complimentary in-room shampoo and other toiletries, inventing the hotel amenity as we know it today. The alternative – travelling with carry-on liquids – is challenging, but about the only thing I will use from a hotel’s amenities now is a bar of soap or a refillable dispenser. Everything else is packaged in plastic and often disposed of partially used and replaced daily by housekeeping.

Once welcomed as a perk for clients, the provision of amenities is now a bit of a headache for the hospitality sector. Hotels want to offer products that fit with their brand positioning. Recycled plastic is considered lacking in premium feel and glass is a health and safety risk, so something like PET (polyethylene terephthalate, a plastic widely used for packaging) is the easy option. It can be recycled, yes, but where reliable recycling infrastructure does not exist (think about the challenges in the Seychelles or the Philippines), the chances of that happening are slight. In fact, only a quarter of the 8.3 billion tonnes of virgin plastic produced since the 1950s has been recycled, leaving 6.3 billion tonnes discarded as waste.

Most Aman properties provide amenities in ceramic containers that are cleaned and refilled and feel right on brand. My regular hotel in Paris, the India Mahdavi-designed Thoumieux, at least uses 500ml bottles by Aesop that are only replaced when empty. But many luxury hotels seem to feel that refillable vessels are contrary to good service – guests are fussy about cleanliness. I would take that as a design challenge.

ADA International, a leading maker of hotel amenities, produces for 22 brands, Hermès and Bulgari among them. It can fill around 63 million plastic bottles and dispensers a year (84 per cent made from PET). Consider that in Dubai alone 11.58 million tourists accounted for 21.89 million room nights in the first three quarters of 2018, and you see the problem is off the scale.

While hotels and their suppliers struggle to find a solution, they keep buying plastic. Clients need to take over. We need to reject these products, leave them unopened or, better still, take them down to the general manager and say we won’t use them until they can offer something better.

Hotel room no-nos
Hotels should remove plastic-wrapped sewing kits and make a proper sewing box available on request, with a larger selection of buttons and threads.

Replace the plastic-stemmed cotton buds with ones with paper stems and put a few in a ceramic or wooden holder. They don’t need to be sealed in plastic.

Yes, occasionally, clients need a toothbrush, but it does not have to be in plastic, and toothpaste can also come in recyclable metal tubes instead of plastic.

Clients can live without plastic showercaps.

Find a better way to serve water in the room – for example, filtered rather than bottled.

As originally featured in the March 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*240)

It’s been 15 years since the Vigilius Mountain Resort (W*64) was completed, 1,500m up Monte San Vigilio in the Alto Adige region of Italy. Here, the silence, views and, most of all, the air, scented with trees, make for an unforgettable experience. Constructed from local larch, stone and clay, Vigilius was my first encounter with the responsible architecture of Matteo Thun. A few years later, I would return to this region, to the nearby town of Merano, to write a piece on a municipal amenity like no other – Thun’s Terme Merano (W*87), 7,650 sq m of public baths with 25 pools set over five hectares.

This autumn, Waldhotel officially opened on Swiss mountain Bürgenstock, high above Lake Lucerne, and it’s a game changer in terms of wellness. Thun has built eight floors into the mountain, constructed from gabions, using stone taken from the excavation, and local ‘moon’ wood (this is timber cut when the moon is waning and the sap content is at its lowest – it is said to produce better quality wood and use less toxic wood preservatives). Maximum integration between the mountain and the architecture means the hotel just disappears into the landscape. All guest rooms and medical and wellness facilities face south, towards a lush valley dotted with the occasional farm house, while the seventh floor dining room, bar and library offers spectacular views over the mountains.

Waldhotel is quite unlike my regular spa haunt, the Vivamayr, or the Lanserhof, both in Austria, as its medical and wellness offering is vast. There are guest rooms fitted out specifically for post-operative rehabilitation, as well as a large dermatology centre, a dentistry department and a state-of-the-art diagnostic centre. It also offers detox and weight loss programmes, mobility programmes for fitter guests, and a mindfulness-focused destress programme.

Thun’s design incorporates two wings: in the east wing are facilities for rehabilitation, physiotherapy and personal training, while the west wing houses numerous spa facilities, including indoor and outdoor pools, Kneipp baths, saline tanks, saunas, hammams, ice rooms, relaxation cabins and massage rooms. During my stay I made full use of the medical and wellness facilities, but it was the architecture and context that may have been the most beneficial. Thun’s timber structure frames the long-distance view, so tranquil and a stark contrast to the screens we stare at all day, while the smell of the timber, the grass, trees and herbs, and the sound of cow bells switched me to mindful mode. When it comes to wellness design, Matteo Thun is the master.

What’s on offer at Waldhotel

Diagnostic and laboratory analysis, including spiroergometry and echocardiography.

Internal medicine, including a DEXA scan, which measures bone mineral density.

Orthopaedics, including invasive surgical procedures and non-invasive clinical work.

Nutritional advice, including weight-loss programmes and special menus, based on the results of the diagnostic and laboratory analysis.

Sports medicine for athletes, including a cryotherapy ice lab, where you stand naked for three minutes at -110°C.

Mobility programmes for fitter guests.

Psychologists and special therapists to treat stress, trauma and exhaustion and offer support for weight loss.

Dentists and dental hygienists.

Dermatology clinical assessments with diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. 

As originally featured in the January 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*238)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Waldhotel website

I was one of the 380,000 customers who had their names, addresses, email and card details stolen recently from an airline. The airline dealt with this by instructing us to contact our card providers and follow their instructions on how to manage the breach of data – buckpassing that left the banks’ call centres overloaded. The same carrier suffered computer system failure last year, stranding thousands of customers over a long weekend. Commentators blamed cost cutting for both incidents.

Cuts do not go unnoticed. I found toenail clippings beneath my feet on a recent flight with the carrier; I’ve also seen used tissues, dirty napkins, not to mention a seriously soiled toilet in first class in New Delhi, which had not been cleaned between flights. Cabin crew tell me of plans to take out the coat cupboard at the front of the business cabin on short haul flights, so the airline can fit another row of seats. Flying to New York first class recently I paid for Wi-Fi – you might think that could be included.

Then there’s the food. The airline’s lounge serves baked beans for breakfast and toasted supermarket sliced bread. In business, the short haul offer of late has been a salad or a ‘panini’ with mozzarella of dubious quality, tasteless tomato and a bread roll as an accompaniment. Yup, bread with bread. There’s lots of animal protein on the recently updated menu and vegan must be booked as a special meal. More plant-based meals would be popular and a great way to offset carbon, as livestock farming produces more greenhouse gases than the aviation industry.

A sucker for a carry-on: The Kobold VC100 is a small handheld vacuum cleaner powered by a lithium-ion battery and made by German specialist Vorwek. £129, kobold.vorwerk.co.uk.

I generally ask for nuts, which are served in a packet in business class and on a dish in first. I still sympathise with the nut rage of Heather Cho on that front (in 2014, the then Korean Air vice-president had one of its planes turn back to the gate after a row over her nuts being bagged, not on a plate). I’ve been doing some maths. In economy, a 70g bag of nuts is sold for £1.60. In business, you get a 16g pack, worth about 36p. A perk for forking out to fly in a premium cabin?

In January, when my flight from Mexico was postponed by 20 hours by text message, the customer service phones were closed in Mexico, the US and the UK, and I had an 11-and-a-half-hour wait until they reopened. A day late for a job, with no way to move a connecting flight and left to pay up front for a night in a hotel myself, I wondered why an airline that flies to 75 countries can’t manage a 24-hour call centre.

I am a picky passenger, I don’t do low cost and I don’t do economy, and I don’t expect my premium purchase value to be eroded. Please fly to serve the customers rather than just the shareholders.

Take a comfort blanket: Hand-loomed in Scotland in two shades of cashmere, this ‘Clyde’ blanket by Connolly is ideal for snuggling down on long haul in any cabin. £2,400, connollyengland.com. Illustrator: Danae Diaz

Picky Nicky’s flying wish list

Use more doors
Let’s have direct flight bridges to first, business and economy on long haul, for quicker boarding and disembarkation – once we land, we just want to get off and no one should have to wait.

Lounge food
Ditch the cornflakes, baked beans and other supermarket offerings. Take a look at what is offered in terms of fresh, cooked-to-order food in the lounges of Qantas and Qatar Airways, for example.

Water
Get rid of single-use plastic water bottles. Find a better way to serve water.

Premium arrivals service
See what the competition does in Asia with arrival services. If a hotel can offer to meet you at the air bridge when alighting your flight, assist with luggage, and fast-track you through immigration and customs, then airlines can offer the same.

Cleaning
I’d rather not have to carry on a vacuum cleaner.

Don’t make Nicky go nuts
Serve them in a dish.

As originally featured in the December 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*237)

INFORMATION

Read more Picky Nicky columns here

My official title at Wallpaper* is quality maniac-at-large, a moniker that I adopted after meeting Pier Luigi Loro Piana in early 2014 to talk about his vicuña, which, he explained, was prized by ‘quality maniacs’ (W*181) – something I could totally relate to. Another fun fact is that one of my first pieces for this magazine nearly 16 years ago was about the Italian brand’s delivery van, which was emblazoned on its sides with ‘Attention, cashmere in transit’. After spotting it in Milan, I explored the journey of a raw fibre that started in Mongolia and ended up as a finished Loro Piana product.

My interest grew when I saw a preview of the collection now hitting the stores and met Raffaella Redaelli de Zinis, Loro Piana’s chief product officer. There is much to be coveted in the new range, which focuses on sublime understatement with subtle changes to proportions and palette. In a luxury market increasingly geared towards millennials, these kinds of products are as rare as the fibres they are made from.

Sweeten the pill: Master woodworker Pierluigi Ghianda once gave Italian style icon Marella Agnelli this pill box to replace her ‘unsuitable’ plastic one. €290, bottegaghianda.com.

So I set some time aside to visit Loro Piana’s production facilities in Roccapietra and Quarona in northern Italy to witness first hand the transformation of the world’s most select noble fibres – including cashmere, vicuña and superfine merino wool – into yarn, which is then knitted or woven into cloth before being tailored into garments. The sweater pictured above is knitted from baby cashmere, an exceptionally fine fibre that comes in at 13.5 microns (one micron is one-thousandth of a millimetre). It’s harmlessly brushed from a kid goat in Mongolia just once, at age four to eight months, with each brushing producing only 80g of raw fibre (compared to 250g of regular cashmere).

After being washed and checked in Loro Piana’s own plant in Ulaanbaatar, the wool is transported to Roccapietra, where the fibres’ purity and shape are examined under a microscope. Then it’s passed under a UV light and someone counts the number of ‘acceptable’ black hairs – no more than five for every 10g. Once washed and dyed, it’s turned into yarn in a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment. If the yarn is to be woven, like the cashmere and vicuña used for the bomber pictured above, that happens at Loro Piana’s Quarona mill.

The most memorable part of the visit was watching the final procedures carried out by the menders. Armed with the eye of a goldsmith, a magnifying glass and a pair of tweezers, they check the finished cloth, inch by inch, pulling out any stray fibres that don’t make the grade. Then another craftsman repairs any minute imperfections with a tiny needle. Only a quality maniac can fully appreciate that.

Picky Nicky’s wishlist of Loro Piana products

Turtlenecks, from £1,195 each
These baby cashmere light turtlenecks are available in a range of colours; I would go for a dark number in black grey/grey London smoke, and a lighter version in yellow/croissant/natural/cord

3B sweater jacket, £2,485
A glove-fit patch pocket blazer cut in cashmere light jersey

Crewneck sweater, £1,150
This jumper is made of baby cashmere light mousse, using a yarn that has been twisted together in a variety of colours with a very subtle melange effect

Bomber jackets
It's hard to choose between the grey cashmere Ivy bomber (£2,160) treated with a Storm System membrane, or the double bomber (£9,740) in a blend of grey vicuña and baby cashmere, which comes with a cashmere knit collar and cuff in matching rib.

As originally featured in the October 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*235)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Loro Piana website

Bolstering its growing homeware category, which launched in July this year, MatchesFashion.com has announced a new collaboration with creative director and interiors expert Nick Vinson.

The global ecommerce platform approached Vinson – or Picky Nicky, as he is known to Wallpaper* readers – earlier this year, tapping his design and fashion acumen to curate a capsule collection, which spans soft furnishings and tabletop accessories. ‘Scarcity is luxury’, Vinson says, and as such, selected the newly rendered items for their ‘precious and highly collectible qualities', from an impressive selection of British and European designers.

The 12-item edit will be available through MatchesFashion.com, and at 5 Carlos Place, the brand's London event and creative broadcasting space, which opened earlier this year. Vinson sees the hub, with its foliage-filled attic and personal shopping lounges, as ‘more of a townhouse than a retail destination'. Here, the collection will be displayed as it would be in the home, engaging the digital-first client in a more tactile, inspirational and interactive retail experience.

Vinson sought out makers, ‘who are all best-in-class in Europe, and quite hard to find here in the UK', working closely with them on new renditions of original designs. Highlights include vases by Linck Ceramics, which have been newly decorated by Roksanda Ilinčić, in her signature, expressive hand. Elsewhere, exclusive new colourways find their place in Connolly's Clyde cashmere blanket, and two-tone weave cushions by Tomas Maier for Bottega Veneta.

A personal story accompanies each design. Take the twisting twig candlesticks by Ted Muehling which Nymphenburg has produced in white bisque porcelain since 2002. ‘I bought a pair in 2009,' Vinson explains. ‘Muehling kindly agreed to make them for us in black bisque, which look rich and quite different from the white – and will be very collectible.'

A similar story is behind David Mellor's Pride cutlery, which was originally designed by Mellor in 1953 while he was still at the Royal College of Art, and has been produced in silver or stainless steel ever since. ‘When we moved into our Florence house,’ recalls Vinson, who shares his London and Italian homes with husband designer Álvaro González. ‘I asked David’s son Corin to make a special version of Embassy, designed in 1963. It came in silver or polished stainless steel. We wanted to use it in the summer outside, and we had it made in matt, which makes it less formal. The new Pride in black has a black PVD coating and a special brushed finish. Its really chic, and the small change does not compromise the original design.'

Objects by Bottega Ghianda, Lobmeyr, Carl Auboch, TAF Firenze, and Perfumer H, alongside ‘cloud leather’ presentation bowls by Stéphane Parmentier for Giobagnara, and a special silver teapot designed by John Pawson, for Belgian distributor When Objects Work, complete Vinson's selection.

‘Picked by Nicky' comes at an interesting time in MatchesFashion.com's development. The platform is renowned for its ability to adapt to changing retail climates, while maintaining its commitment to highly curated, personalised design. Matches opened in analogue in 1987, with a single boutique in Wimbledon Village, before changing its name to MatchesFashion.com in 2013. Now, with the launch of its townhouse-style London base, and progressive initiatives in homeware, the fashion-first platform seems to be ushering in another identity-pivot, fuelled by fashion-focused customers' increasing interest in interior design objects.

Approaching both categories with a similar commitment to rare and unusual finds is arguably the key to the platform's success. ‘Today, MatchesFashion.com has big brands like Gucci represented in fashion, accessories and now home, but it also introduces lesser known brands to its customers like Álvaro, my husband’s accessory brand, Lutz Morris bags which launched exclusively with the site, or John Booth's handmade ceramics,' Vinson explains. ‘Clients trust MatchesFashion.com to introduce them to new designers, and I expect they will be just as open-minded to our makers.'

INFORMATION

For more information, visit MatchesFashion.com

At a talk on timepieces organised by Mr Porter, when asked about watch-wardrobe malfunctions, the panel of experts agreed the biggest faux pas was wearing the wrong watch on the beach. I have actually had Orlebar Brown make my husband Álvaro a pair of white ‘Setter’ shorts with gold-hued buckles to coordinate with his Rolex, but must admit my ‘Cape Cod’ watch from Hermès has a Martin Margiela-era brushed leather strap – unforgiving of suntan lotion and salt water – so I’ve never worn it on the beach. That same night I spotted Cartier’s new ‘Santos’ and later treated myself to one. In 18ct yellow gold and stainless steel, it is water-resistant to 100m and looks good with a tan – definitely a beach-appropriate watch.

In my view, the problem of what to wear on or near the beach is not so much the watch but the wardrobe. Some men really struggle at dressing for time off, especially those who hide under a uniform of suit and shirt five days a week. So here are Picky Nicky’s vacation dressing guidelines.

Swim shorts are one of the few places a guy can wear print, but make sure they have a slim, tailored fit. If you wear swim briefs, please put shorts on for lunch.

Appropriate dresser hotspot 1: Test your holiday wardrobe at Il San Pietro. Perched above the sea in Positano, Italy, it’s a family-run jewel of a hotel where smart informality rules. ilsanpietro.it. Illustrator: Danae Diaz

A work shirt is not suitable out of office. Choose something with a softer interlining in the collar. Polo shirts are good but keep the collar down. On a simple round- or V-necked T-shirt, avoid visible branding or you’ll look like the mug that paid $400 for a white tee – and sleeveless is only OK for working out or taking a run.

Knitwear should be cashmere or superfine merino wool, plain not patterned, in camel, heather grey or navy; a sweatshirt-neck detail adds a relaxed touch. And it’s always useful to have a jacket where casual formality may be required in a restaurant – choose a plain blue blazer or a slim-fit blouson.

Shorts should be cut from cotton and finish above the knee. Linen tailoring of any kind is to be avoided unless you want to look like an extra from a period drama or a Pitti Uomo peacock. Jeans (without fake rips) and cotton trousers in plain colours are a good look worn with a slim belt. Stay away from logoed buckles, which suggest an 18-year-old who saved up his pocket money for his first designer splash.

Sandals are cool and comfortable – again, avoid logos. Loafers are better than driving shoes and there is a big difference between leather sneakers (OK) and trainers with chunky moulded soles and tricky colour combinations (not OK). A nude ankle is best in summer, so a note on secret socks: they are meant to be secret – if they’re in any way visible, do without.

Appropriate dresser hotspot 2: At the Hotel Il Pellicano in Italy’s Porto Ercole, almost all the guests would pass the Picky Nicky wardrobe test. hotelilpellicano.com. Illustrator: Danae Diaz

Find the perfect holiday wardobe

Swimwear
Orlebar Brown. Prada does a good nylon short and fun seasonal prints. If you’re fit and wear swim briefs, Charlie by Matthew Zink

Shirts
Aspesi, Officine Générale, Tomas Maier

Polos
Always Lacoste, and look out for its artist-designed Holiday Collector series

T-shirts
Margaret Howell and Sunspel

Trousers and jeans
Officine Générale, Acne, Aspesi and Department 5

Knitwear
Loro Piana and Ermenegildo Zegna

Shorts
Orlebar Brown, Aspesi, Officine Générale

Blazers
Ermenegildo Zegna and Hermès

Blousons in leather or suede
Giorgio Armani, Ermenegildo Zegna and Officine Générale

Sandals
A good selection at Mr Porter, Matches Fashion, Browns Fashion. Álvaro aside, try Birckenstock’s ‘Arizona’ reworked by Rick Owens

Sneakers
Go for a low-top leather ‘tennis’ style, plain in single-colour leather; try Pierre Hardy, Anya Hindmarch and Common Projects

Loafers
Berluti’s soft leather ‘Lorenzo Lecco’, or try a fold-down back from Gucci or JM Weston.

With a flight almost every other week, I do a lot of packing. Getting that right means good luggage, ruthless editing, knowledge of how to fold, and somewhere to pack.

Over the past few months I have been air-testing Louis Vuitton’s Marc Newson-designed Horizon cases, which can now be connected to an app via the brand’s Echo device. When a connected case passes through sensors in one of 120 international airports, you receive a notification on your smartphone so that you know the case has landed with you (or, depressingly, turned up somewhere else). It also tells you if your case has been opened.

Usually I travel with my Louis Vuitton monogram canvas Pégase 55 trolley case and matching Sirius 70 suitcase (or the Sirius 45 when I need less). I love the old-school look of it, though occasionally I feel pretty blingy. Horizon also comes in monogram canvas, but as the frame is moulded in a mesh matrix composite, it weighs very little and, as Newson relocated the extendable cane to the outside, it has more internal space, so you can get more in. Which, funnily enough, is not always what I need. I have had packing lessons, where I learnt that editing is key. First lay out what you think you need and then edit it down – there is nothing worse than returning with loads of unworn items. What I really want is a dedicated packing space at home, and I have been plotting one with Patrick McInerney, the architect who designed my house in Florence and my Marylebone apartment. McInerney has come up with a design (see below) in which the main focus is a 3-4m-long counter, wide enough to view everything you need for a trip and hold a pair of open suitcases. The counter, crafted in American walnut with a tobacco leather top, will also feature a special light and a shelf below for additional suitcases and bags. There is a good 1.5m between the counter and some wardrobes, so all doors can be open and you can still move freely. The wardrobes, which are lit inside and lined in cedar, feature lightweight trays that can help organise stacks of shorts, shirts, sweaters, sandals and the like prior to packing.

McInerney is also a master of tech, so he proposed a flush-mounted screen to check destination weather, controlled by Neeo, and music to get me in the destination mood channelled through Sonance speakers. I also need a steam vault for pre- and post-packing to ensure clothes are wrinkle-free. At this April’s Salone, I spotted V-Zug’s Refresh-Butler, which applies refreshing steam vapour within the wardrobe, so that should do the trick. Packed-by-Nicky will never be bettered.

How the Louis Vuitton Echo works within the Horizon luggage

Developed in collaboration with Sigfox (which has a dedicated global network of 120 airports, including London Heathrow, Paris Orly and New York JFK), Echo allows passengers to track connected luggage when travelling, thanks to the LV Pass smartphone app.

Echo can be slotted inside the case and runs on a rechargeable battery that lasts up to six months.

The first automated notification comes on arrival at the departure airport.

Echo turns to flight-safe mode on take-off and turns itself back on again on landing.

On arrival at a networked airport, the device sends a notification to the passenger’s smartphone. In the unfortunate even that it turns up at another airport, the notification comes from that airport.

Passengers are also informed when the case has been opened via the combination lock.

As originally featured in the July 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*232)

Six years after opening Tiina the Store in Amagansett in the Hamptons, Tiina Laakkonen is adding an extra 100 sq m of retail space. Completing just in time for the summer, the newly constructed clapperboard barn, with a raised seam zinc roof, sits out the back of her painted veranda-fronted shop housed in a building dating from the 1800s.

Most retailers faced with a 66 per cent increase in floor space would order more merchandise to sell. But not Laakkonen. Instead she is relishing the opportunity to give her expertly curated stock more space. Instead of maximising sales per sq m, like most number-focused businesses, Laakkonen has chosen to focus on display and improving the environment, allowing her to create a better experience for her clients. The product gets to breathe more, and Laakkonen gets to be all obsessive about the customer experience, how they enter and move around. There’s also a dedicated area where people can gather and sit during their visits.

Rain supreme: Aliki van der Krujis has captured real raindrops in the Fukusen blue glaze of her Arita-made porcelain plates for Thomas Eyck. €370, thomaseyck.com. Illustration: Danae Diaz

Faye Toogood was commissioned to design bespoke display elements, which are mixed with vintage furniture from Finland. The design of the new build and interior has been overseen by Laakkonen and her husband Jon Rosen, together with local architect Blaze Makoid. The pair, who are very picky about lighting, collaborated with lighting designer Heather Libonati, whose work for the Shulamit Nazarian gallery in LA they first spotted in Wallpaper. And – just so you get quite how picky they are – Rosen, who has a background in photography post-production, set up a testing centre in the basement of their home to try out all the options with products. So you will never look better than in one of Laakkonen’s new fitting rooms.

What makes Tiina the Store so unique, and earns Laakkonen the top tastemaker award in the picked-by-Nicky list, is that, rather than focusing on what she sees as ubiquitous ‘fast luxury’, a ‘tired concept’ that she rejects outright, she looks instead to makers rather than brands, and for objects and pieces she believes have real value, integrity and longevity. I see her in Paris during fashion week but not at the shows or big brand showrooms – she’s not interested in all that marketing and gloss. Instead, she uses her curiosity, honed over years as a stylist and fashion editor, to search out ‘beautifully crafted pieces made by real people who combine contemporary design with traditional artisanal skill’. She has the guts, taste and experience to do that exceptionally well. I call this ordering off menu, and sometimes it’s the only way to do it.

What I am reading: Please Do Not Touch (And Other Things You Could Not Do At Moss, The Design Store That Changed Design), by Murray Moss and Franklin Getchell. $55, rizzoliusa.com. Illustration: Danae Diaz

A few of Tina’s favourite things

Cashmere knits by LA-based brand The Elder Statesman

Clothing by Tokyo label Arts & Science

Tailoring by Bergfabel from South Tyrol

Textiles and clothing by South Korean designer Christina Kim’s LA-based Dosa label

Denis Colomb’s soft cashmere homewares, woven in Nepal

Shirtdresses and tunics by Indian brand Péro

Traditional shibori-dyed knitwear by Suzusan from Arimatsu, Japan

Lena Rewell’s colourful mohair blankets, handwoven in Finland

Sandals by Álvaro, crafted in Florence

Isaac Reina’s leather goods, made in Paris

Scarves by Scottish brand Begg & Co

Workwear by London-based brand Toogood

Homewares by Finnish brands Iittala and Artek

Jewellery by New York-based designer Maria Beaulieu

As originally featured in the June 2018 issue of Wallpaper (W*231)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Tiina the Store website

I’ve spent a serious amount of time in Milan over the last 20 years (I lived there for seven of them and, although I’m now based in London, I spent more than 30 days in the Italian city last year). As a result, I’m often asked for recommendations, especially in the run-up to Salone del Mobile.

So here are my top tips (addresses below), some new, some stalwarts, but all with the picked-by-Nicky seal of approval. Firstly, for a great meal – traditional, straightforward Italian with no unnecessary flourishes – I always head to Bice, Torre di Pisa, A Santa Lucia or Paper Moon; and if I fancy eating on a terrace outside, then it’s Il Salumaio, Dal Bolognese or Dehors at the Park Hyatt. It really pays to book these places, so ask your concierge.

If you can’t get to a restaurant by 2.30pm, you are unlikely to get served lunch, so try a café such as Sant Ambroeus, Cova and all three branches of Marchesi, which now serve meals late into the afternoon. Chef Carlo Cracco has just moved to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, where his team serves simple dishes – pizza, pasta, risotto and cotoletta alla milanese – on Richard Ginori 1735 porcelain in the ground-floor café until 10.30pm. Upstairs is Cracco’s gourmet restaurant, featuring 13-course tasting menus. It’s a far cry from the kind of simple Italian cuisine I prefer, but ordering à la carte in one of the two private dining rooms is tempting, especially the one with views over the building’s central octagon.

For shopping, check out Antonia, the Vincenzo De Cotiis-designed men’s and women’s store of local tastemaker Antonia Giacinti. Shoemaking scion Gianvito Rossi has just opened his first men’s boutique, designed by Patricia Urquiola, next to the Museo Bagatti Valsecchi. Visit the Marni store to see what new creative director Francesco Risso has been up to, and shop for design at the brand’s Viale Umbria 42 space during the furniture fair. In Brera, visit the Michele de Lucchi-designed Bottega Ghianda store to pick up a piece by Gae Aulenti or Mario Bellini, crafted by the late master woodworker Pierluigi Ghianda.

OMA has just completed the last stage of the Fondazione Prada project, a nine-storey concrete tower that adds 2,000 sq m of gallery space, plus a rooftop bar with city views. While there, remember that Bar Luce (designed by film director Wes Anderson) has the best sandwiches in the city.

As to what to see during the fair, read our preview, check Wallpaper.com for up-to-date listings and a map, and follow @wallpapermag and @nickvinson on Instagram. We promise to lead you to the best bits without recourse to the useless official guide.

Restaurants
Bice, via Borgospesso 12
Torre di Pisa, via Fiori Chiari 21
A Santa Lucia, via San Pietro all’Orto 3
Paper Moon, via Bagutta 1
Il Salumaio di Montenapoleone, via Santo Spirito 10
Dal Bolognese, via Amedei 8
Dehors, Park Hyatt Milan, via Tommaso Grossi 1
Cracco, Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II

Cafés
Sant Ambroeus, Corso Matteotti 7
Pasticceria Cova, via Montenapoleone 8
Marchesi, via Santa Maria alla Porta 11/a; Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II; and via Montenapoleone 9
Bar Luce, Fondazione Prada, Largo Isarco 2

Boutiques
Antonia, via Cusani 5
Gianvito Rossi, via Santo Spirito 7
Marni, via Montenapoleone 12
Bottega Ghianda, via Formentini 9

As originally featured in the May 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*230)

Single-use plastic is just dumb. Since the 1950s, we’ve produced around 8.3bn tones of virgin plastic, according to a recent US survey, and of that, 6.3bn tonnes has been discarded as waste. We all got conned into believing it was recyclable, but in fact, less than ten per cent of that waste has been recycled, so instead it ends up floating in the sea or digested by marine life.

I have never been a fan of drinking water from a plastic bottle anyway; I much prefer a Lobmeyr muslin glass. Even more stupid is buying branded tap water in a plastic bottle; being served Evian or San Pellegrino water outside France or Italy (I have refused that as far away as Bali); or, most preposterous of all, buying water from Fiji exported in plastic bottles to more than 60 countries.

Glass act: drinking from plastic is incomparable with the pleasure of using an ultra-thin muslin glass such as the ‘Alpha’ tumbler, designed by Hans Harald Rath in 1952. Available from Lobmeyr.

My husband Álvaro and I managed a plastic-free two-week road trip in Spain thanks to Sigg aluminium bottles that we refilled twice a day. When checking in to the Four Seasons’ Surf Club in Miami in December, I had all the plastic bottles in the room replaced with glass jugs of filtered water replenished daily. They did the same at the Esencia in Mexico over Christmas, and served water in glasses on the beach (although I spotted my glass of ‘fresh’ aloe vera juice was served from a plastic bottle, so I didn’t order it again). I also take my water bottle on trains and, when flying, fill it up in the lounge before boarding. It’s actually easy to just say no.

There is also a worrying trend for polyamide teabags packed in individual plastic bags. I have spotted ugly Twinings packaging in the British Airways First Class lounge at Heathrow; some by Dammann Frères at the Park Hyatt Milan; and teabags by Betjeman & Barton at Marchesi. The Park Hyatt took note of my comments and within an hour I had fresh leaf tea and a pot in the room, while Marchesi promised to take my ‘comments into consideration and forward them to our supplier’. I’m not sure how helpful that will be, as both Betjeman & Barton and Dammann Frères confirmed they use nylon and plastic, and then didn’t reply to my subsequent messages for this piece. Why anyone would want to drink tea wrapped in a pair of tights is beyond me anyway. Løv Organic uses corn starch bags but seals them in ‘metallised plastic’, and Clipper’s paper teabags are, for now, sealed with a polymer fibre (basically plastic). Opt for Robert Wilson’s Ceylon Tea; it is single estate and plastic-free even when bagged.

New leaves: this Yorkshire Grey tea with bergamot, mandarin oil and lavender was created by Lyn Harris of Perfumer H in collaboration with Postcard Teas. £15.

The UK government has just pledged to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042. That’s 24 long years away, so let’s hope bold businesses such as Edition Hotels (see below) and picky consumers can bring about change much quicker.

Edition’s stay plastic-free initiative
The Edition hotel group is already 90 per cent single-use plastic-free. Aiming to be 100 per cent single-use plastic-free by the end of 2018, it has taken the following measures:

Straws & lids
All plastic straws are being replaced with sustainable paper ones, while takeaway cups will soon come with a Naeco compostable lid.

Bathroom accessories
Toothbrushes are being switched from plastic to bamboo, and the group is now working on a solution to replace plastic amenities containers.

Water bottles
All plastic bottles in minibars will be removed this spring: water will be stored in Just Water paper cartons with sugarcane caps instead. Staff have been given resusable stainless steel bottles and access to water fountains.

Coasters
Also this spring, coasters at the London Edition will be made from recycled ocean plastic waste.

Food containers
Disposable food containers at the Miami Edition are shortly to be made from bamboo.

As originally featured in the April 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*229)

I have always been something of a picky eater, especially when it comes to meat and poultry. Like everything else, my rule is ‘less but better’, so no intensively reared factory-farmed muck for me; in its place, I eat just a little of the good stuff. The same goes for fish – I won’t touch anything farmed.

Following a series of back-to-back visits to Paris’ Maisie Café (where I discovered an alternative to the usual Fashion Week fare of bread, butter, pastries, cheese and chips), coupled with a few lunches at Yeotown on London’s Chiltern Street, a daily intake of ‘plant-based’ Instagram posts by journalist Calgary Avansino and, most importantly, watching the new pro-vegan documentary What the Health on Netflix, I beefed up the plant-based part of my diet and eliminated a hefty number of animal products.

I started my new regime with a 12-day stint at the Mayr Clinic in Austria, chewing my way through a vegan diet, and now I only eat meat, fish and dairy three or four times a week. It took a few chats with my doctor and my personal trainer, plus some fresh schooling in the kitchen, to get going, but I soon discovered, among other things, that it’s much easier to make my own fresh almond milk than I thought, and that all protein originally comes from plants. Of course, this is just me exercising my quality maniac tendencies and being obsessive about good health. But if you eat less flesh, then the pleasure on the palate is actually heightened. I am happy to swap a T-bone steak or veal cutlet for a 17g serving of beef sashimi at Tokyo restaurant Yotaro in Roppongi. The beef, which comes from Yamagata prefecture, is served lightly torched and wrapped around some rice, and the pleasure per gram is off the scale.

I am never going to become a ‘meat is murder’ animal rights activist. When some vegans recently blockaded the meat and fish counter at my local supermarket, I actually felt like buying both just to spite them. I also love fur and leather, partly for their durability. (Yotaro, incidentally, has been using the same saddle leather Mario Bellini ‘Cab’ chairs for 37 years.) But I am far from being the only person now switching to a more plant-based diet – it’s a major shift in consumer behaviour. And although I eat out a lot, both for work and pleasure, I have no intention of dragging anyone involuntarily to a vegan eatery. However, the dining scene needs to move with the times. Pick up any breakfast menu and you will find it’s almost entirely based on eggs and dairy, while most restaurant menus are too heavy on the meat and fish. An offering of salad is fine in the summer at lunch, but side dishes are just not a satisfactory option. It’s time for the hospitality sector to step up to the plate.

Food for thought

Maisie Café
A Parisian coffee shop and juice bar serving a vegan, gluten-free, organic menu.
32 Rue du Mont Thabor

Calgary Avansino
Health and lifestyle guru Avansino offers up recipes, tips, videos and Instagram inspiration.

What the Health
A 2017 pro-vegan documentary written and produced by Kip Andersen.

Yeotown Kitchen
The new London outpost of contemporary North Devon detox retreat Yeotown.
40-42 Chiltern Street

Yotaro
A family-run tempura restaurant that has been serving heavenly bites since 1981.
4-11-4 Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo

As originally featured in the March 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*228)

In June 2014, after a run around Regent’s Park, I stopped off at Fischer’s, a Viennese-inspired restaurant in Marylebone that was about to officially open. Despite sporting running gear, I was greeted enthusiastically by its elegantly-dressed owner Jeremy King, who was hosting a soft pre-opening night. I booked a table for later that week and have been back 128 times since. Getting a table by phone or by email is always simple and swift, and if I pop in at any time of day, no matter how busy, I am greeted by name and found a table.

When Fucina, on the corner of Chiltern and Paddington Streets, appeared to be open, I did the same thing, although this time I was dressed more appropriately. It too was having a pre-opening for ‘friends only’, but I was informed I was not one. Instead of taking my booking on the spot, I was given a business card and told to call. Despite the brush-off, I made a booking and headed there with Wallpaper* fashion director Isabelle Kountoure, but, after an officious doorman blocked our way, and a so-so meal, I decided not to bother them again.

Fit the bill: Before I first walked into Fischer’s, I had been running (which is what allows me to enjoy all the dining). My current favourite running gear is by Soar. Illustration: Danae Diaz

I am not keen on using online booking systems. They lack the personal touch and, in the competitive London market, restaurants that attend to the individual needs of their regulars stand out. I prefer to call or email for a booking, but trying to get into Gymkhana in Mayfair or Trishna in Marylebone, my two favourite Indian restaurants, has always been a challenge.

Despite 12 visits to Trishna last year, I am still treated appallingly by its reservations team. Emails go unanswered for more than 24 hours, and sometimes I have to send emails twice. It’s even worse at Gymkhana. I complained to the managing director of JKS, which runs both restaurants, and now I have a real person in reservations to contact. But I still had to be flexible for a December booking requested in October, and I had to compile and send back a form with my credit card details to secure it. I know I can’t compare the ease of getting a table in Florence and Milan to London, but if Chiltern Firehouse and Spring can expedite my bookings with grace, then so can others. You can’t become a restaurant regular if you have to fight so hard.

Canteen dream: My new regular dining spot is Rochelle Bar & Canteen, which just opened a new location at the ICA on London’s The Mall. Illustration: Danae Diaz

I quizzed King, who runs a number of great spots, including The Wolseley, with his business partner Chris Corbin, about how they get the feel of their restaurants so right. With the standard in London so high, it’s his view that it’s not enough just to be the new kid on the block. ‘You want to feel welcome,’ says King. ‘The best restaurant is the one that you are known best in. It’s the moment that you are addressed by name.’

How Jeremy King takes care of his clientele

Some of Corbin & King’s restaurants operate through a centralised reservations team, which takes the strain away from front of house staff during serving hours. King keeps an eye on them through a glass partition in his office above The Wolseley. Two reservations directors oversee all calls and jump in if necessary, while a special team manages private dining requests.

King suggests emailing or calling rather than booking online as usually only 70 per cent of tables are offered that way. The centralised team operates from 9am-8pm during the week and 9am-6pm at weekends. Outside of these hours, calls go direct to the restaurants. Emails sent overnight get an out-of-office reply before being viewed at 7am and replied to from 9am.

The system uses number recognition, but most customers know to give their name at the start, as Corbin & King hold back tables for regulars. Software links all calls, emails and online bookings with a group database, so a good client of one restaurant will never be a stranger when they try another within the group. The system also keeps a note of your preferences and naturally it knows that Nicky is very Picky.

As originally featured in the January 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*226)

During a lecture for her ‘Breathing Colour’ exhibition at London’s Design Museum, Hella Jongerius, a lifelong campaigner for more diversity in pigment and colour in industrial design, complained that heavy testing requirements in the industry suck the life out of colours, which are designed to remain stable for decades. ‘We all like the patina of second-hand furniture, we all like when it has a bit of life in the colours or the materials,’ she said. Objects that hint at their past are so much more interesting, but many contemporary products will never deliver such pleasure.

Jongerius’ point really resonated with me. Sadly, everywhere we look nowadays, nothing really ages. Every surface is flat, covered in a layer of gloss to stop it fading, scratching or coming into contact with human hands or life itself. Materials that should live and breathe are frozen under a coating of silicone, PVC or acrylic. Leather has its natural grain removed and a replica stamped in its place, to look more regular.

It’s then coated, so no client will ever return it because it changed colour with touch or time, even though naturally tanned leather deepens over time in a beautiful way. Wood, a fibre that absorbs humidity as it breathes, should never stay still, yet today is more often than not just a slither of laminate atop a composite such as MDF. It’s then coated so much that it loses its tactile quality and may as well be fake. Even silk is coated with silicone, as it is considered too fragile after being stripped of most of its protein to get to its glossy core during processing.

It was David Chipperfield who changed my perception on ageing in architecture when Berlin’s Neues Museum reopened in March 2009, the building’s complex history visible in its very fabric, which was repaired, conserved, restored and recreated so artfully. And it is Vincenzo De Cotiis, with his innovative appropriation of salvaged and reclaimed materials, complete with signs of age and use, who fine-tuned my appreciation of patina. His designs are often achieved through re-appropriation of used textile, metal, wood, leather and stone. Although the original pieces are often unrecognisable in his final work, the age and use is always left visible as he uncovers beauty in imperfection and life.

Better with age

Fabrics

High thread-count cotton bedding and men’s poplin shirts should improve the more you wash them – if they don’t, change your supplier.

Tokyo’s Second Skin has developed a natural silk without any silicone coating that stays soft even after extended washing. 

Wood

Look for items crafted from solid wood rather than laminate, from makers such as Ceccotti Collezioni and bed specialist Hästens.

Finishing is everything: a wooden object from Bottega Ghianda has more time invested on its hand-finishing than its construction.

Leather

Look for irregular grain in leather goods. If it’s the same all over, it is likely to be stampened.

Vegetable-tanned skins are best for upholstery, as they are more tactile and improve with use.

Buy for the long term. As Jean-Louis Dumas once said, ‘Hermès is different because we are making a product that we can repair.’

As originally featured in the December 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*225)

My first stop on a recent road trip across northern Spain, travelling from the Basque Country to Galicia, was the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. My keen organizational skills meant that I had booked lunch at Nerua, the museum’s famed gastronomic restaurant, months in advance. That turned out to be a nine-course, two-hour affair by chef Josean Alija. However, I had failed to pre-book entrance tickets to the museum itself and, faced with major queues, I had us fast-tracked through, in exchange for becoming friends of the museum – a rather expensive way to gain one-off access. The Richard Serra show (eight site-specific works permanently installed in the museum’s largest gallery) was impressive, but so rammed with people that we left pretty promptly. In my view the museum is best seen from the outside anyway, especially as it comes into view as you drive over the La Salve Bridge.

Magic carpets: Wallpaper* Award-winner Nanimarquina produces seven carpets based on works by Chillida, including this ‘Gravitación 1993’ rug. €8,924. Illustrator: Danae Diaz

Álvaro, my Madrid-born husband, had been talking about the Museo Chillida Leku near San Sebastián for around 14 years, and the next day we finally managed a visit. It was opened in 2000 by the locally born sculptor Eduardo Chillida, just two years before his death. Around 40 of Chillida’s monumental steel and stone sculptures are installed in a 13-hectare park and inside a 16th-century farmhouse renovated by the artist. It sadly closed to the public in 2011, but you can, for a donation of €230, request a private tour – which is exactly what we did. Our host was Mikel Chillida, grandson of the artist, handsome, charming and very knowledgeable.

We had the place to ourselves for the entire morning. We also managed to prize open the shop, which has been shuttered for six years, and added a few items to our collection (which already included some lithographs published by Galerie Maeght and Galerie Lelong), most notably Chillida’s ‘Collage 1966’ carpet, now hanging above the bed in our home in Marylebone. After lunch we set off to see The Comb of the Wind, his series of three sculptures installed in 1976 on the rocks of San Sebastián’s La Concha Bay, which inspired us to drive 366km to Gijón the next day to see the 1990, 10m-high concrete work Elogio del Horizonte.

Flower power: I used to detest mixed bouquets until I came across florist Simone Gooch’s seasonal arrangements; each one is more exquisite than the next. Illustrator: Danae Diaz

Our blissful Chillida tour lasted just over two hours, probably the best two hours I spent in the past year – and to put that into perspective, in this job I am spoilt with rare opportunities to meet some of the extraordinary people who fill the pages of this magazine. The two hours after were spent sampling Juan Mari Arzak’s cuisine at Arzak in San Sebastián, which cost twice as much, and made the Chillida visit feel like a bargain.

Picky Nicky’s favourite museums

Museo Chillida Leku: Jauredi Bailara 66, Hernai, Gikuzpoa, Spain

Salvador Dalí House: Portlligat, Cadaques, Spain

Musée Yves Saint Laurent: Rue Yves Saint Laurent, Marrakech, Morroco

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art: GI Stradverj 13, Humlebæk, Denmark

Parrish Art Museum: 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, New York, USA

21_21 Design Sight: Akaska, 9-7-6, Midtown Garden, Midtown, Tokyo, Japan

Leeum, Samsung Art Museum: 60-16 Itaewon-ro 55-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea

As originally featured in the November 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*224)

About eight years ago, I stumbled across the Andreas Murkudis store in Mitte, Berlin, and was left with a lasting impression of a genius who could convincingly display items such as Aspesi nylons alongside Nymphenburg porcelain, contrasting the purely functional with the highly decorative. Murkudis has since relocated to a cavernous space in Potsdamer Strasse, where he has a fashion store at 81 and a design store at 77, as well as a gallery across the road. A visit is filled with discovery. I probably know 90 per cent of the brands and makers he sells, but it’s the ten per cent that I don’t know that excites me. Lately it has been Second Skin and Cyclas from Japan, Neri from Florence, bed linens by Ege, and candleholders by Carl Auböck for Lee West Objects.

When I talk to Murkudis about object hunting (a task we have in common), and about how makers reach his radar and what interests him enough to buy, it’s clear that he’s fascinated by storytelling, and the stories that he tells about his brands and makers don’t disappoint.

Animal magic: I love a decorative napkin, such as these ones adorned with embroidered bugs, raccoons, foxes or whales, by Brooklyn firm Coral & Tusk and stocked at Mouki Mou.

Another inspirational tastemaker is my Marylebone neighbour, Maria Lemos of Mouki Mou. At a recent visit to Maison et Objet, my favourite finds were some sublimely simple brushes made of shuro, or Japanese windmill palm, created by Takada Tawashi, a maker from Kishu in Wakayama Prefecture. After calling a friend in Tokyo, I managed to get hold of some samples so that I could write a feature about them. When I later met up with Lemos, I was keen to share them with her, but she had them already – ‘That was my favourite item from the fair,’ we both said in unison.

Lemos opened Mouki Mou in London’s Chiltern Street in 2013, and she hunts out makers and products that move her and stir a desire to possess. Her stock includes Nendo’s ‘Patchwork’ vases for Lasvit, oneoff Pressed Flower Artworks by MR Studio, jewellery by Ted Muehling, blankets by Denis Colomb, glassware by Lobmeyr, and leather goods by Isaac Reina. Lemos goes to great pains to avoid the ubiquitous. Like Murkudis, she has an inherent curiosity, as well as well-honed principles, which make her edit unique. Her store layout, with its slither of a façade and warren of rooms that spreads out below, serves to accentuate the journey of discovery for the client.

Light relief: Second Skin, stocked at Andreas Murkudis, produces near-weightless clothing made of advanced natural materials, like air-knit cotton. Just the thing for aeroplane cabins.

For me, the joy of acquiring something new and precious is in understanding its unique characteristics, in knowing who created or designed it, when and where it was made, what it is made from, and what sets it apart from the rest. A tastemaker who is well-versed in the art of storytelling will stand out from the crowd.

Other legendary retail tastemakers 

Murray Moss and Franklin Getchell: The duo behind Moss, the iconic New York design gallery that opened in 1994. Having shuttered the store in 2012, today they focus on consultancy through Moss Bureau.

Joseph Ettedgui: Founder of the Joseph empire, who passed away in 2010. He introduced countless new brands to London, such as Prada, Marni and Kenzo, and his merchandising mix was highly seductive.

Tiina Laakkonen: The Finnish former model and stylist brings her unique point of view to the Hamptons through Tiina the Store in Amagansett.

Tomas Maier: At his Miami, Palm Beach and East Hampton stores, opened almost 20 years ago, Maier sold his own cashmere sweaters and swimwear alongside a curated edit of accessories, design objects and the best selection of design books ever. Today, his eponymous collection and stores have a fuller offer.

As originally featured in the October 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*223)

During Fashion Week, usually the day after a show, the Wallpaper* team visits showrooms to see the collections up close. I touch the fabrics, and try things on to see how they feel. I ask lots of questions, way too complicated for most PR teams to answer, which is why I prefer to talk to the designers themselves. It’s there that I start my list of must-haves for the season ahead.

Top of the Picked by Picky Nicky list right now is a double-breasted, doublefaced coat, in merino wool or cashmere, cut from two fabrics that have been woven on a loom together. The two layers are usually the same, but can be different shades and are lightly connected by a binding weft. The garment is tailored with a hand-finishing technique that separates the two layers just enough at the edges and hem, around 2cm, before the raw edges are turned back under themselves to close the seams, giving a perfect finish inside and out.

The double-faced structure means that jackets and coats can be tailored without the need for any shoulder padding, stiffening and, generally, lining (although a skinny sleeve might have a light lining to assist in getting it on with ease). So the entire coat – give or take a few buttons and a label – is made of just the one piece of cloth, inside and out.

To enthuse about such sartorial matters, I turn to designer Alessandro Sartori, my favourite fellow quality maniac, who happens to work for Ermenegildo Zegna, a house that mills its own cloth and has been producing double-faced fabric for 100 years. For Sartori, when fitting a garment, there is ‘a dream point’, achieved through working down to the millimetre, where he can create a sharp shape without any padding. A coat in Ermenegildo Zegna’s 300g Century cashmere is ‘almost weightless’, he says, ‘like a second skin’. Pair it with a silk T-shirt in spring and autumn, or a sweater in winter and, Sartori says, it can be worn for up to ten months of the year, giving plenty of wear per euro.

I have a two-button blazer in doublefaced wool from Raf Simons’ era at Jil Sander and, nine or so years on, I keep wearing it. Half the looks in his A/W09 Jil Sander women’s show were in doublefaced cashmere, his tribute to the team at the brand’s Hamburg ateliers (which sadly shuttered around that period) that had tailored the brand’s classics for decades.

The statement of a spare, double-faced coat can’t really be beaten, for men or women. It is never too much nor too little. Inside and out, cut from one piece of very fine cloth, it’s the perfect expression of form and function.

Picked by Picky Nicky: the season’s best double-faced coats

Hermès: Véronique Nichanian’s leather-trimmed, wraparound, navy cashmere double-faced coat for Hermès has just the right amount of volume.

Helbers: Paul Helbers’ two-button, Crombie-style coat is cut from double-faced jersey, available in either heather grey or navy blue.
Louis Vuitton: Kim Jones’ double-faced vicuña trench.

Berluti: For his debut at Berluti, Haider Ackermann showed a supple and roomy coat in wool and cashmere. The men’s piece was modelled by Liya Kebede, which underlines how doublefaced works equally well for men and women.

Acne: The ‘Chad’ three-button, oversized coat in double-faced wool and cashmere.

As originally featured in the September 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*222)

INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Calvin Klein website and the Hermès website

It’s well documented, and not just by the picky among us, that, during Milan’s Salone del Mobile, navigating the Fuorisalone (everything outside of the official fair grounds) is tough. Design magazine Interni lists 450 events, which just means that 450 companies paid to be included in its listing guide. Fuorisalone.it, which also offers a smartphone app, lists 1,498 events, and includes 13 separate zones, such as the Brera Design District (with 192 events) and Ventura Lambrate & Centrale (with 136). There is just too much on offer and not enough vetting and editing.

The rise of Instagram means that picturesque postings send swarms on a journey around the city. The winners, in terms of foot-traffic, were those that looked best on a smartphone. The top ten posts of the 76,911 (and counting) that tagged #SalonedelMobile2017 had between 31,000 and 223,000 likes each.

The top events this year included Louis Vuitton’s ‘Objets Nomades’, Studio Swine’s ‘New Spring’ blossom tree for Cos, Marc Ange’s ‘Le Refuge’ at our own Wallpaper* Handmade, and Nendo, which took over Jil Sander’s showroom. Nendo had 12,000 visitors over the week and queues from the afternoon on the first day right through to the end. Dimore Studiohad so many people in its apartment that I had to leave without seeing much. I came away with just a memory of some pink ‘Locus Solus’ garden furniture by Gae Aulenti for Poltronova.

One great thing about the fair was its accessibility. But I get the feeling that these days we professionals are only invited to shows and events so we can Instagram them in a flash – even an online review just takes too long to get posted now.

There were so many people on the streets (the good weather helped) that there was no room for those of us who were there to do a job. I had to have a little chat with security at Cos (3,500 visitors on the last day) and Louis Vuitton (4,000-5,000 per day) to ensure that I didn’t have to queue. Cos – which makes great, accessibly priced clothing – is a very, very clever marketeer. Every year it comes to the fair for the halo effect and a bit of design dust, each time collaborating with a different designer. This year, some bright spark brought on board Studio Swine, which created delicate mist-filled ‘blossoms’ that disappeared on contact with skin – glorious but fun.

The industry needs to develop new products to survive, and that stimulation of creator and maker is essential for the health of the sector. I loved my three minutes at the Cos installation, but design is for life, and my highlights listed top right will endure long after the bubble bursts.

More than fun, my Milan highlights:

Formafantasma: I was delighted by its Delta lighting collection at Spazio Krizia and its line for Nude Glass.

Molteni & C: Vincent Van Duysen’s new role as creative director for Molteni & C is a perfect fit.

Flos: Outstanding lighting from the Bouroullecs, Konstantin Grcic and Michael Anastassiades.

‘Baroquisme’ by Vincenzo De Cotiis: Pure poetry in Murano glass, cast silvered brass, recycled fibreglass and rare marble.

David/Nicolas for Editions Milano: I am obsessed with the zigzag-topped ‘Triangoli’ collection of marble vases and trays.

Hermès cashmere blankets: Seulgi Lee’s colourful quilts were so beautiful I would hang them on the wall.

Vincent Van Duysen: I loved the Belgian designer’s new tableware for When Objects Work on his table for Hullebusch.

CC-Tapis: Designs by Faye Toogood and Mae Engelgeer signalled the return of the wall hanging.

As originally featured in the July 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*220)

I recently spent some days in Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, at Thompson’s Cape hotel. To say it has acoustic issues would be an understatement. Poolside or beachside, guests are hit with competing audio from the terrace and the open-air bar. The ‘fine dining’ restaurant was insufferable, too – even well inside, seated some distance from the door, we were battered with noise from speakers above and a performer in the bar outside. In our room, the balcony doors had to be kept shut to avoid aural bombardment from below. It was a case of too much, too loud and too bad.

Picky Nicky often moans about pianists tapping out popular tunes (or, worse, singing at the same time) in hotels such as the Four Seasons or Villa San Michele in Florence, or the Splendido in Portofino, because it is inescapable even if you are as far as possible from the source. But I will never return to a restaurant, no matter how good the food, if the music is too loud and the acoustics bad. Guests end up shouting just to hear themselves over the noise.

Presented in Milan in April, this turntable by Ermenegildo Zegna and Master & Dynamic is finished in Zegna’s wovenleather Pelle Tessuta fabric

It’s not that I don’t like music. It’s just that I’m spoilt rotten thanks to the maniacal attention that goes into sound at fashion shows and events today (see my memorable music moments, below). For help I turned to Michel Gaubert, the Paris-based maestro dubbed a ‘sound stylist’ by Karl Lagerfeld. Gaubert is responsible for the music at my favourite shows, including Chanel, Fendi, Valentino and Raf Simons. He told me he likes to stay at New York’s Bowery Hotel, where there is no music at all, as in his view the music is wrong 99 per cent of the time in US hotels. Like me, he finds it tacky, intrusive and annoying. For Gaubert, there is a distinction between passing through a hotel and waking up and staying all day in a resort – where the right kind of music has a place.

Gaubert works almost exclusively on shows, helping designers to amplify their message by translating their vision into audio; he does not create soundtracks for restaurants or hotels, except his favourite, Hotel Esencia on Mexico’s Mayan Riviera. He keeps going back because he has the feeling he is staying in someone’s house – the mood is mellow, the staff are great and once or twice he has not left the property during his entire stay. Gaubert made the sounds for the rooms, main restaurant, beach bar and garden restaurant. It’s neo-disco at the beach, which he describes as pleasant but not too pumpy, while the pool has a lush 1960s Latin vibe that he calls ‘yacht rock’. To me, this sounds familiar with a twist, unaggressive, and I’m certain it feels just right. Now I know which coast of Mexico I’ll be heading for next time.

A rising star at Salone Satellite, Tanya Repina of Aotta Studio has made sound-absorbing panels from pine needles and biodegradable polyester

Nick’s memorable music moments

Jazz singer Melody Gardot performing live at Bottega Veneta’s 50th-anniversary dinner at the Accademia di Brera in Milan.

Aperitivo time at the Il San Pietro hotel in Positano, where a charming mandolin-and-guitar duo play traditional Neapolitan tunes at the perfect volume.

Orchestra da Camera di Brescia playing beside me at Aquazzura co-founder Edgardo Osorio’s 30th-birthday bash, masterminded by Fiona Leahy in the Salone del Trono at Palazzo Corsini, Florence.

Michael Nyman performing live, with no rehearsal, at Roksanda’s A/W17 show in London.

Twinned models riding escalators up and down to a Philip Glass soundtrack – on a set created by Daniel Buren> – at Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton’s S/S13 show in Paris. Michel Gaubert mixing Tammy Wynette with The KLF, Primal Scream, cockerel sounds and Michael Nyman’s In Re Don Giovanni at Chanel’s S/S10 show.

As originally featured in the June 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*219)

I have been working with Italians for nearly three decades and it’s been the catalyst for fine-tuning my quality maniac tendencies. Back in 1988, I met fashion designer Alberto Aspesi at his factory north of Milan. He insisted I try some mozzarella di bufala because it was a Tuesday. This was the day he had the fresh buffalo milk cheese flown up by plane from Naples, and he said there was no point in eating it on any other day of the week. It should also never be refrigerated, so best not to bother with restaurants who must follow tedious health and safety rules.

Some time later I was chatting with Pier Luigi Loro Piana about the joys of vicuña and discovered a fellow quality maniac (I have him to thank for my strapline above). This is, after all, the man who, along with his late brother Sergio, brought the world 100 per cent cashmere carpeting.

I avoid industrially produced tomatoes when making sauces. Instead I use Paolo Petrilli's, grown on his Puglian farm, then hand-picked and bottled

In January this year I had lunch with Romeo Sozzi, the founder of furniture company Promemoria and the new owner of Bottega Ghianda. I was researching a story on the Italian woodwork experts and flew in to take a tour of the Ghianda workshops, but first Sozzi invited me to lunch in his special kitchen above the factory. While we decided what to eat, he insisted I try a pinot noir he had discovered while on holiday in the Alto Adige region, where it was served in finestemmed, big-bowled glasses from Zalto’s Denk’Art collection, so he had to buy them, too. So far so good. I am in the Murray Moss camp. I prefer my wine in a generously-sized glass designed by Josef Hoffmann for Lobmeyr (preferably from the ‘Patrician’ set). Moss once said of Lobmeyr: ‘When you go from a normal glass to this, it modifies your behaviour. You become more graceful.’

Sozzi, however, did not stop at stemware, which seduced him, he told me, the minute ‘the wine danced in the glass as I turned the stem in my hand’. Due to the large bowl and smaller rim, it needed to be washed in a special dishwasher (one of the UC series by Winterhalter, which has a flexible, pressureadjusting system for fine glass), so he bought that too, along with a treatment machine to ensure the water was clear enough. At this point I realised I was not being picky enough and still had a lot to learn.

A fine case of less but better. Bocconcini are hand-cut squares of chocolate-covered ice cream, invented by gelateria Dai Dai on the Tuscan coast

After lunch I was offered panettone,which Sozzi gives to clients at Christmas. My husband Álvaro and I also order it as gifts, from Pasticceria Stefania in Florence, and we rewrap it too, as does Sozzi, but I learnt he starts working on his panettone in July, when bakers are invited in with their trials for him to taste. Supposedly, raisin length is key – the longer the better for a good chew. I have so much to learn.

How to be picky like an Italian

Cheese: Good Parmesan comes from the milk of Vacche Rosse (red cows). They produce a third less milk than the more commonly used Holstein breed, which were introduced to industrialise the cheese production process

Olive oil: Almost everyone I know presses their own olive oil, which is tinned or bottled and frequently shared, as production often exceeds family use. The late Sergio Loro Piana used to serve up to five different varieties with one meal to ensure perfect pairing

Flowers: A bottle of wine is not the customary gift when invited to dinner in Italy. Flowers should be sent earlier in the day so your host or hostess has time to put them in a vase

House shoes: If you visit Giorgio Armani at his mountain home in St Moritz, a pair of velvet slippers in your size will be ready at the front door when you arrive. Your boots will be returned to you (cleaned) on departure

As originally featured in the May 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*218)

On a recent visit to the London townhouse of interior designer Jonathan Reed and fashion designer Graeme Black, the subject turned to lighting. Over an aperitif in the kitchen, Reed despaired over a tiny pair of recessed LED spotlights above the hob. His outstretched arm beneath them, he said, appeared ‘dead, with no sign of blood’. During dinner, in a room lit by exquisite architectural lighting and numerous decorative lamps, I quizzed him further. It turns out that for all his projects, Reed makes a decorative lighting schedule that lists the location and description of each lamp, and the name, manufacturer and stockist of each bulb, to ensure enduring perfection and make life easy for his clients.

I realised I was being far from picky enough when it came to domestic lighting. The next weekend, at the Florence home I share with my husband, I started to lay out my own lighting manual, room by room. Despite having architectural lighting designed by Patrick McInerney (the architect who designed the Trufig range of flush-mounted technology solutions), plus a Lutron management system to set scenes and a good selection of vintage lamps, our light-bulb situation was seriously lacking. Basically, we used whatever bulb fitted.

In London, Vincenzo De Cotiis made us a custom silver-plated brass DC606 to hang in the living room. It came with its own four-page manual

I felt my age. Not long ago it was a simple matter of choosing an Edison screw, small Edison screw or bayonet, and a candle, classic, golf ball or globe shape. Now there are spiral bulbs and LEDs, CFLs (compact fluorescent lights, which you can’t dim) and the orange filament lamps seen in every other hipster bar.

Later that week I took tea with John Pawson, who provided me with a 1,200-word essay he’d written, entitled ‘Light’. I learnt that his go-to lighting man is Arnold Chan of Isometrix, who also supplied our recessed lamps. John told me that his wife, Catherine, was in charge of bulbs at home, but then they have just the one freestanding lamp, by Serge Mouille, and their only real challenge is replacing the fluorescents in a Dan Flavin piece – very first-world housekeeping problems. Like me, Pawson has issues with cables and sockets, so most of his lighting is the built-in kind, which rarely requires bulb changes.

I thought I had everything sorted, until I dined with Martin Brudnizki at a Georg Jensen launch for Zaha Hadid’s jewellery collection (verdict, the bracelets make nice napkin rings). Yes, the designer makes lighting schedules, but he also records how every object in his home is arranged on a surface. Cataloguing Nick’s Nacks, as McInerney likes to call them, would be another project entirely. Somehow, I don’t see the Pawsons needing to do the same.

I’m obsessed with these horsehair sconces from Apparatus Studio. Coarse horsehair meets brass and a light source shrouded in etched glass. $5,200

Newly informed Nicky's top lighting tips

Lighting should support the architecture of a space, so design it at the same time, never afterwards

Both quality and quantity of light should be considered

Never underestimate the variety of white light – just like white paint, there is a range of shades

When lighting your spaces, don’t forget the layout of your furniture and the intensity required for different activities

Natural light will move around a space during the day, so control it if necessary with special screening

Create scenes or moods with the help of light management systems, such as Lutron

We are hard-wired for warm light in the evening and cool light during the day, so create options accordingly

Not all bulbs are created equal, so be afraid, very afraid, of cheap LEDs

As originally featured in the April 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*217)

In the spring of 1997, I took the Eurostar for the very first time from London to Paris. At the top of my to-do list was a visit to Colette, which had opened that March. Colette almost shares its 20th birthday with Wallpaper* – our third issue had just hit the newsstands when the boutique opened its doors. Like us, it was bold, ambitious and game-changing, offering a curated mix of design, art and food.

At that time, the shopping scene was very different. Revolutions in retail were rare: aside from Colette, only John Pawson’s Calvin Klein store on Madison Avenue prompted a Picky Nicky pilgrimage, in 1995.

Colette really was different. Like us, it was an early adopter, introducing the next big thing before anyone else. And, like us, it works hard to achieve this: I see the hours co-founder Sarah Andelman puts into seeking out the new, interesting and worthy of attention. Colette launched the ‘Mirror’ chairs and table by a young Michael Anastassiades in 1998; it was also an early champion of the Bouroullecs, Tom Dixon and Christophe Pillet. The store sold Cappellini’s ‘Rive Droite’ armchair, designed by Patrick Norguet and upholstered in Pucci fabrics, in 2001, at a time when a collaboration between a fashion house and a furniture maker was really newsworthy. And it stocked Kiehl’s when, according to Andelman, ‘if you went to New York you had friends begging you to bring some back’ from the original Third Avenue store.

In 1998, Colette commissioned Raf Simons and Jeremy Scott to customise T-shirts, which were later followed by a special-edition sneaker with Nike. In 2001, Andelman contacted Apple to suggest an iPod in a special colour, but ‘their answer was that we will never have any colour other than white’. Despite that early rebuttal, Apple and Colette became close collaborators: the store previewed the Apple Watch six months before its general release. ‘Colette has a long heritage of embracing technology alongside style and fashion,’ says Apple vice-president Paul Deneve, ‘and an inherent understanding of the touchpoints between style, luxury and sport.’

Today, while the boutique continues to showcase new talents such as Irish designer Simone Rocha, megabrands like Louis Vuitton, Hermès and Chanel spend a lot of time dreaming up unique ways to collaborate with Colette. That keeps the 100-strong team busy, as they juggle 102 windows a year and 124 launch events. In short, Colette has become an essential part of the design world’s food chain. And I doubt if a single Picky Nicky visit to Paris over the past 20 years has not included a stop there.

Colette moments:
1997: Opens its doors for the first time in March

1998: Introduces the first exclusive Colette edition: T-shirts customised by Raf Simons and Jeremy Scott

2003: Launches Nike x Stash – the first time Colette had a queue around the block

2004: Pop-up at Comme des Garçons, Tokyo

2005: Introduces the stainless steel Nokia 8800, which I pined for at the time

2008: Pop-up at Gap, New York

2009: Releases special-edition Ladurée macaroons, in a cotton-candy flavour

2010: Presents the Hermès campaign, ‘J’aime Mon Carré’

2011: Launches Nike x Colette: The Away Project, featuring Chanel, Comme des Garçons, Hermès, Ladurée, Montblanc, Swatch and Saint Laurent

2013: Introduces the Colette Art Drive-Thru at Alchemist, Miami

2014: Previews the Apple Watch for an exclusive 24 hours on 30 September, six months before the gadget went on sale

As originally featured in the March 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*216)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Colette website

The New Year is when I decamp to the Austrian Alps and check in to the Viva Mayr clinic. I have noticed one side benefit of the little food I get, chewed around 40 times per mouthful (it’s the mastication that pulls saliva from the mouth and aids good digestion), is that my taste buds reawaken, finding subtle flavours in the merest morsels, as all distractions have been cleared away. Running around and hiking above Lake Altaussee, where the clinic sits, all your senses get decluttered, the air is clean, it’s still and silent, and the lack of visual pollution means your focus is only larch trees, mountain tops and clear water.

In between appointments with the medical and fitness teams, you get time to read, so during a rush around Daunt Books in Marylebone on the Sunday before I checked in, I grabbed a pile of non-fiction including one impulse buy that seemed timely: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo.

Litter queen: I love a great bin, such as Emanuela Frattini Magnusson’s beechwood basket, which can be found at the new Milan store of Bottega Ghianda

A week in, I opened the book and started to read in 20-minute chunks, while taking a course of saline inhalation treatments. I found the book quite hard to read – self-help books are not really my thing and this seemed penned for Japanese housewives with tiny homes. However, I persisted, just like with the chewing. Kondo’s basic premise was survey all that you own, by type of product, edit ruthlessly, then store in a highly organised manner. As you may imagine, Picky Nicky is rather obsessive compulsive when it comes to organising the insides of cupboards and wardrobes. I bonded with Sheila Hicks during one lecture at Design Miami/Basel when she organised the audience by the colours they wore, and I often wish I could pare my clothing down to just navy, heather grey and white as I imagine how great it would look inside the wardrobe (a uniform of navy blue works really well for Mr Armani, and looks equally good in his wardrobe, which I once had a peek inside in St Moritz). I only surround myself with really good stuff, but I do have way more than I need.

The day I flew home I started following Kondo’s advice. I took everything out of my wardrobes and placed them on the floor, then edited, brutally. In the past I had found it hard to ditch things like Jil Sander-era Jil Sander, Raf Simons-era Jil Sander, and 1990s Hedi Slimane for Saint Laurent, but this time I did, and I even managed to reduce my accumulation of Aspesi padded nylon shirts. There was no pain in the dispatching of the no longer required, and the improvement in the organisation and the extra space gain was a terrific trade-off. Like the 4cm lost on the waistline during my clinic stay, less is definitely better.

Saving grace: an overfilled wallet makes me nauseous. The Receipt Bank app allows you to save and file scanned receipts, ready for export to programmes like Xero

Decluttering directives:

Sort by category, not by location. Start with books and papers, then move onto clothing and shoes, etc.

Put every item of clothing in the house on the floor – this is the only way to get a proper overview of how much you have and what is surplus to requirements.

Discard and dispatch first and store later. You can’t organise things properly until you have done a proper edit.

Be brutal with the edit.

Don’t let your family know as they will very likely make you keep more than you should, or they will keep things themselves, which defeats the point.

Review your folding method. A better technique improves storage and gives a more streamlined appearance.

If you do your decluttering after a stay at the Mayr clinic, you’ll do an even better job.

As originally featured in the January 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*214)

When I was eight I holidayed in Fiji. At 30, I returned to the South Pacific island and the second the plane doors opened, the local smell, heady with frangipani, instantly brought back memories of that visit 22 years earlier. Which left me stunned, as I had no idea that my olfactory memory was quite so powerful.

I finally understood why at Design/Miami one December when I was introduced to Dawn Goldworm, founder of olfactory branding company 12.29, and we got talking about smell. Goldworm had created a scent for the design fair that year, and she is often called in by banks to help make people feel secure, hotels to make people feel at home, or stores to manipulate their client experience. I learnt that smell tends to be our predominant sense until we are ten years old (which explains the Fiji moment), and that scent and emotion are tightly linked in the brain.

There are two other places that I have visited where I just can’t get enough of the local smell. One is at the top of the Monte San Vigilio at the Vigilius Mountain Resort (W*64), designed by Matteo Thun in local larch wood and surrounded by larch trees. The air 1,500 metres up is pretty clean, and I just wanted to swallow as much of it as possible.

The other is Comporta, in Portugal, which I visited this summer. On my first day back in London, I bumped into my Marylebone neighbour Lyn Harris of Perfumer H. She told me she had been busy capturing the very essence of Portugal in a series of new scents for Claus Porto, Portugal’s first ever soap and fragrance factory.

Exchanging notes on how fabulous Comporta was, she confirmed it was a mix of Mediterranean pine and eucalyptus that drove me crazy, but added that there were dry herbs like camomile, lavender and thyme growing wild on the ground (missed by me) and that combination, along with the warm, temperate climate, is what ‘hits you in the face’. Harris also explained that it’s the absence of clutter (the smell version) that gives you the ultimate olfactory experience, and when you smell, it hits the limbic part of the brain, which releases so much emotion.

Aside from the beauty and cleaning industry, plus the world of wine (I love the bouquet of a good wine in a large-bowled, stemmed glass almost more than the taste) this important sense seems overlooked – even flowers don’t smell anymore (thanks, Holland). Everything today seems so focused on look and feel. Think about how much we experience online or through a smartphone – and yet there will probably never been a swipe to sniff action. I will be following Lyn Harris’ lead to tune my olfactory skills and train my nose.

Smelly facts

We develop a sense of smell at 13 weeks inside the womb.

We can smell the food that ourmothers consume from the womb.

Smell tends to be our predominant sense until the age of ten.

Scent and emotion are strongly linked in the brain.

We often smell things before we see them, even if we don’t realise it.

Our lives are cluttered with overbearing synthetic smells, especially from cleaning products and washing powders.

Declutter and remove negative smells, replacing them with positive natural smells.

Solid wood furniture (ie, not lacquered MDF) will give you sensory pleasure.

Look for fragrances that are made with natural, not synthetic ingredients.

Replace your Dutch hothouse flowers with blooms that really smell.

As originally featured in the December 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*213)

Giorgio Armani created this pyramid-shaded lamp for his own design studio in 1982. When he launched his interiors arm Armani/Casa in 2000, the design became an integral part of his home collection and got its ‘Logo’ lamp moniker.

To celebrate the autumn opening of the new Armani/Casa store in Milan, at the former De Padova HQ on Corso Venezia, the ‘Logo’ lamp has been photographed across the globe by Wallpaper* contributor Beppe Brancato in the homes or offices of leading figures in the design world. Among them 
are Vincenzo de Cotiis, John Pawson, Jaime Hayon, Vincent Darré, Roksanda Ilincic and Tadao Ando – 
not forgetting Wallpaper’s own Nick Vinson.

The lamp is shown immediately above in the Osaka office of Pritzker Prize-winning architect Ando, who completed the Armani/Teatro in Milan in 2001, on a one-off table of his own design. On the 
wall is a model of Ando’s 1995 competition entry for the Tate Modern extension, while on the desk is a model of his 2011 Casa Monterrey, Mexico.

As originally featured in the September 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*210)

INFORMATION

A special edition of the lamp will be available from the new store. For more information, visit the Armani/Casa website

ADDRESS

Armani/Casa
Corso Venezia 14
Milan

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

As a perma-traveller, I spend a fair amount of time observing hospitality staff, and my focus is often on what they wear. As a rule, my taste for uniforms is pretty old school: doormen dressed the part with coat and cap; chambermaids with crisp, starched pinnies; waiters in gold-buttoned, trimmed jackets; general managers in a really good suit. The same goes for domestic staff. One of my favourite shops is Mercatores, in Milan’s via Turati, which supplies classic uniforms for the city’s better homes.

Of course, being picky, I have a few pet hates. Purple is a terrible idea (Heathrow Express, take note), as are orange and stretch jersey (I’m looking at you, Spice Market). Not all white shirts and black trousers are created equal, so don’t assume that a team will look like a team if the cut, fit and fabrication don’t match. 

I also suffer from an allergy to stinky chauffeurs: drivers who live in the same suit day in, day out, can be highly unpleasant in the enclosed space of a car. Uniforms need changing, airing and regular cleaning; deodorant and cologne are not the answer. Claridge’s employs more than 400 members of staff, who are dressed in 12 different types of uniform, including tails for the concierge. Each staff member is issued with two sets of uniform and three shirts, individually fitted by seamstresses and laundered in-house. For me, however, the worst crime of all is shoes – all too often staff are left to provide their own. Mere guidelines on colour and heel height won’t suffice; most people would never consider themselves properly dressed without the right shoes, so why should staff? It’s also foolish to overlook belts: there is nothing worse than seeing all sorts of buckles and varying widths on one crew. Rather awkwardly for Hermès (sorry, you know I love you really), maître d’s are rather fond of wearing its H-buckle belt. Which is why mine has remained in its box for about 20 years.

Nothing pleases me more than maniacal attention to detail. One of my favourite places to dine in London is Spring, mainly for the food and the décor, but also because the staff (who all sport the same plimsolls) look brilliant in a relaxed but formal way. It’s the same at the Prada Foundation, where the uniforms are as majestic as the architecture and art. The flawlessness of the more-military-than-museum look, which includes a belt and a pair of rubber-soled boots, is exactly why I love the brand and its obsessive control freakery. And then there’s Singapore Airlines, whose Pierre Balmain-designed uniforms (W*102), which have been in continuous service since 1968, are tailor made for each ‘Singapore Girl’. No compromise then, and none today.

Picky Nicky’s top staff looks (pictured top)

Singapore Airlines
These traditional sarong kebayas were designed by Pierre Balmain. Each Singapore Girl has two fittings and is issued with four uniforms a year.

Prada Foundation, Milan
Grey poplin shirts with rubberised badges, navy military-style trousers, black leather belts and rubber-soled boots. Like Prada prison uniforms.

Spring, London
Waiters wear striped tops, white cotton jackets, long white aprons over wide-legged cotton trousers, and matching plimsolls.

Faena Hotel, Miami
Catherine Martin, who designed the interiors alongside her husband, director Baz Luhrmann, was also responsible for the striking uniforms.

Gambrinus, Lisbon
Waiters wear old-school single-breasted jackets in claret gabardine with a black shawl collar.

Flowerbx, London
Couriers sport caps, heather-grey sweatshirts over white button-down Oxford shirts, cotton canvas chinos and black Jack Purcell Converse trainers, all embroidered with a single blossom.

As originally featured in the November 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*212)

INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Tomas Maier website and the Officine Générale website

In 1996, I took a meeting with a man about a new magazine, at The Athenaeum Hotel in London’s Mayfair. I let Mr Brûlé present the idea, without letting on that I had already decided to book a page of advertising for Katharine Hamnett in the launch issue, thanks to an enthusiastic introduction from a mutual friend. Later that year, I devoured issue one (W*001) and got hooked on the novel mix of design, fashion, architecture, entertaining and travel.

Five years on, when Jeremy Langmead was hired as editor-in-chief, I wrote to him from Milan, where I was living, and asked if I could be a stringer. My time as Milan editor, which I soon became, allowed me to indulge my interests. Meeting the likes of Angelo Mangiarotti, Carla Fendi, Laudomia Pucci, Tomas Maier, Matteo Thun and Vincenzo De Cotiis was a bonus. In 2007, when Tony Chambers took the reins, I left Milan for Marylebone and days spent Bankside at the Wallpaper* offices with its sweeping view of Tate Modern.

As special projects editor, my first task was to work on our inaugural guest-editor issue, and I called upon Jeff Koons, Dieter Rams and Hedi Slimane. A year on, it was the turn of Rei Kawakubo, Zaha Hadid and Louise Bourgeois. This is the best part of the job, working with extraordinary people. I’m grateful every time these talents find time to sit and talk about what they are up to.

Another big thrill is seeing how things are made, with normally out-of-bounds, behind-the-scenes access to the best global manufacturers. Most memorable have been Nymphenburg, Richard Ginori, Georg Jensen, Puiforcat, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Iittala, Ceccotti Collezioni, B&B Italia, Berluti, Zegna and Lesage, all producers with staggering know-how. Witnessing the pride their teams take in producing beautiful things never ceases to impress. During these visits, Picky Nicky is pretty nosy and fairly persuasive, as I get to sniff out top-secret projects to bring them to you before anyone else. I spotted a silversmith with a shape that could only be the work of Aldo Bakker when visiting Puiforcat’s Paris workshops in June 2013, a collection that was eventually launched in November 2014 and published first in W*189. Visits to the studios of Konstantin Grcic, Naoto Fukasawa, Scholten & Baijings, John Pawson, Roksanda Ilincic and Mary Katrantzou were another treat and story source.

And the best job in the world surely has to be commissioning for Wallpaper* Handmade. Out of many extraordinary items, the 2012 ‘V’ tent from Industrial Facility with Louis Vuitton, and the ‘Flora’ wallpaper with Gucci and Cole & Son, are my most loved (W*161).

As originally featured in the October 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*211)

INFORMATION
Illustrator: Danae Diaz

As a Brit who lives between London and Florence, married to a Spaniard with Italian residency, working for the world’s most international magazine, I woke up on 24 June in Paris, midway through Men’s Fashion Week, to learn the unthinkable was a reality. At the shows and appointments that followed, I pondered the extent of freedom of movement between the UK and continental Europe, now and in the past, for the houses and designers whose collections I was seeing, and how some early European migrants had set up major maisons.

Before the nightmare of Brexit had had a chance to sink in, I received an evite for the opening of London Show Rooms Men, the British Fashion Council initiative that allows emerging British designers to promote themselves during Paris Fashion Week. Of course, there are plenty of high-profile Brits working for important French houses, such as Céline’s Phoebe Philo and Chloé’s Clare Waight Keller, yet it’s hundreds more, educated in the UK, that make up their design teams (Alber Elbaz said Louise Wilson OBE, the late professor from London’s Central Saint Martins, provided him with his ‘orchestra’ at Lanvin).

The father of French haute couture is said to be an Englishman, Charles Frederick Worth, who founded the House of Worth in Paris in 1858. The first store Louis Vuitton opened outside France was in London, back in 1885. All pre-EU of course, and mentioned just for fashion history, but today it’s Briton Kim Jones, Louis Vuitton’s men’s artistic director, also Wilson-trained, who showed his best collection to date with a little help from UK artists Jake and Dinos Chapman.

That night at Berluti’s pool party [fig 1], I recalled that in 1882, Alessandro Berluti set out from Senigallia in Italy to Paris, where he set up shop as a bootmaker – a migrant worker in search of a better life. The next night, talking with our friends from Hermès, I learnt Thierry Hermès was born in Krefeld, Germany, and his family moved to France in 1828, nine years before he founded the brand [fig 2]. Neither story involves the EU, nor the UK, but they reinforce the positive aspects of migration on the very foundations of fashion.

Back in 1986 The Antwerp Six, a group of designers including Dries Van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester, rented a truck, drove it to London and presented their collections during Fashion Week. Maison Margiela is today owned by an Italian, Renzo Rosso, and its creative director is Britain’s John Galliano. Kris Van Assche, a Belgian, heads up design at Dior Homme; Lucas Ossendrijver, a Dutchman, leads at Lanvin Homme. I could go on. Cross-pollination helps fashion, and indeed all creative industries, to thrive – a reason to treasure freedom of movement. 

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Flying the flag for free movement

• Paul Smith has shown in Paris since 1976, produces in the UK and Italy, wholesales out of London, Paris and Milan and has 871 wholesale clients and 39 stores within the EU.
• Manolo Blahnik was born in the Canary Islands, lives in the UK and produces shoes near Milan.
• Jonathan Anderson, the London-based, Northern Irish designer, is creative director of French-owned Madrid-based leather goods house Loewe. French powerhouse LVMH also has a minority stake in his label JW Anderson.
• These great ‘British’ designers are all European: Mary Katrantzou is Greek, Roksanda Ilincic is Serbian, Simone Rocha is Irish and Peter Pilotto and his partner Christopher de Vos are Austrian/Italian and Belgian/Peruvian respectively.
• Massimo Nicosia, head of design at Pringle of Scotland, has his roots in Sicily.
• Dean & Dan Caten of DSquared2 have made London their home yet Italy is where they show, sell and produce their collection.
• French luxury goods holding company Kering owns ‘British’ labels Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane and Stella McCartney.

As originally featured in the September 2016 issue of Wallpaper (W*210)

INFORMATION

Illustrator: Danae Diaz

For me, Salone del Mobile, held each spring in Milan, starts with the tiresome task of going through invitations and just under 400 e-vites. I sift the must-sees from the must-nots and make a day-by-day plan. With my list, I can easily skip the crapola (there is sadly plenty of that) and see the best. Instagram is handy for editing the list further (overexposure is a turn-off) or adding in stops that I may have overlooked.

This year’s highlight was a project celebrating 400 years of ceramic production in Arita, a town on Kyushu Island, Japan. Masterminded by Teruhiro Yanagihara, creative director of pottery company 1616/Arita, and Scholten & Baijings, it brought together ten potteries and 16 designers under one umbrella brand – known as 2016/. As a presentation, it ticked all the boxes: great story-telling, exceptional products, dynamic displays and a very nice spot for lunch where you got to try out the merchandise.

Over the course of a week, I met a few frequent visitors to Milan who had never been before during Salone, so had never seen the city so alive. Their enthusiasm for Milan at its most vibrant – and open – reminded me never to take it for granted, and a few unplanned stops reminded me why design is at its heart.

I queued for a good part of the morning (something Picky Nicky does not normally do) to visit the apartment of late Milanese architect Piero Portaluppi in the Casa degli Atellani. Although parts of the main house and gardens are always open to the public, Portaluppi’s apartment was opened exceptionally for just four days during Salone. That’s me in the sketch above, chatting with Portaluppi (as I imagined him) beside his superb heptagonal fireplace. Of course, if Wallpaper* had been around during his time, we would have snapped him up as a guest editor, commissioned him to participate in Wallpaper* Handmade, or both.

He built many beautiful buildings across the city, including the Casa Villa Necchi in 1935, famous for its role in Luca Guadagnino’s 2009 film I Am Love. I first visited as a guest of Giorgio Armani in 2008 – he was one of the patrons of its restoration by Fondo Ambiente Italiano (FAI) – and Wallpaper* featured it in a May 2009 Milan special (W*122).

My final stop was Portaluppi’s 1925 Albergo Diurno Venezia, a subterranean delight that included barbers’, manicure and pedicure stations, a travel agent’s and public conveniences. Abandoned for at least a decade, it is now managed by FAI, which has recently opened it to the public for a limited time. I am hoping that one of Milan’s fashion houses will help restore it and bring it back into use.

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Must-sees by Milan’s maestri:

By Angelo Mangiarotti – Church of Mater Misericordiae (1957), via Conciliazione 24, Baranzate; Casa a Tre Cilindri (1959), via Gavirate 27; apartments (1960), via Quadronno 24; Milano Repubblica metro station (1990).

By Luigi Caccia Dominioni – Casa Caccia Dominioni (1947), Piazza Sant’Ambrogio 16; via Santa Maria alla Porta 11 (1960); Convento di Sant’Antonio dei Frati Francescani (1963), via Carlo Farini 10; Galleria Strasburgo (1966), via Durini.

By Piero Portaluppi – Casa degli Atellani (1921), Corso Magenta 65; Planetario Hoepli (1930), Corso Venezia; via Tommaso Salvini 1 (1930); Casa Villa Necchi (1935), via Mozart 14.

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Fantastic foundations:

Fondazione Studio Museo Vico Magistretti, via Conservatorio 20
Fondazione Achille Castiglioni, Piazza Castello 27
Fondazione Franco Albini, via Telesio 13

As originally featured in the July 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*208)

INFORMATION

Illustrator: Danae Diaz

Like many frequent users of the Eurostar train service between London and Paris, I have been waiting for the day that you can work from your WiFi-connected seat. I travelled on WiFi-connected high-speed trains in China in 2010, so never really understood the long wait. So imagine my disappointment when I stepped on board Eurostar’s new e320 trains, and found they were not connected.

I posted a photo on Instagram with #stillnowifi and #dumb hashtags. Minutes later, comments came in from a gaggle of respected fashion critics, including US Vogue’s Sarah Mower, Vanity Fair France’s Virginie Mouzat and The Telegraph’s Lisa Armstrong, their essay-length comments slaughtering the new carriage design. By then I had been busy banging my knees on the underside of the extendable tables, tried and failed to figure out how to turn off my light (the cabins are overlit as it is), while also wondering why anyone would want to ‘slim down a seat’ and wishing for the comfort of the old Philippe Starck-designed seating with their wool velvet covers.

Shortly afterwards, design website Dezeen contacted me for comment, as it had noticed my post and the slew of passionate comments. It published a story on my post, which received further comments online and was included in its newsletter, arriving in my inbox with the title ‘Eurostar redesign “disaster”’ – pure Picky Nicky power.

Still, a train that gets me to Paris from St Pancras in two hours and 20 minutes is pretty impressive, although we pay for the privilege. So when an investment like this comes out so wrong, it makes you wonder, is designer Pininfarina to blame, has it lost its edge, or does Eurostar just lack a creative chief? Perhaps it just lacks competition. Deutsche Bahn plans to operate an Inter City Express (ICE) service from Germany to London, but development of its Class 407 trains is behind schedule and complicated by the need to operate on British, Belgian, French and German systems. When Italo arrived on the scene in Italy, it certainly shook things up, and existing operator Trenitalia rose to the challenge.

There is light at the end of the Chunnel, though. Gare du Nord is set for a major upgrade, thanks to a masterplan by Jean-Michel Wilmotte, to be completed in 2023. Meanwhile, the Eurostar terminal, currently painful to use, is getting a 15m makeover. So by November there will be a double-sized business lounge, designed by Softroom, which will be accessible from the expanded control area and lead directly to the boarding area. As for the WiFi, apparently it’s being tested, and one day should work for at least part of the route.

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What is good on board in Europe…

Trenitalia’s executive class, with just eight seats, full table service and a meeting room for working. If you book early enough, it costs the same as business class.

On Germany’s Inter City Express, the glass separation between the driver’s cabin and the first-class passenger area, for a 180-degree view.

A decent meal in your seat, such as on Spain’s AVE trains in preferente class.

Trenitalia’s pulizia a bordo service, which means that one or two cleaning staff walk up and down the trains during journeys, keeping the cabins and the toilets spick and span.

Healthy, fresh food, like the Italobox from Eataly, sadly no longer served on Italo trains.

A bow from the crew, as on the Shinkansen bullet trains in Japan, when entering or leaving your carriage. It shows your custom is valued.

Silent coaches, providing they are clearly labelled and properly policed.

Open WiFi, without having to provide your email address and signing up for marketing messages.

As originally featured in the June 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*207)

INFORMATION

Illustrator: Danae Diaz

In 1989, I went into Gucci to look at a pair of loafers – at the time a very cool shoe, from a majorly uncool brand. I seem to remember thinking all the rest of the merchandise and the store interior was laughably outdated and beyond hideous (although I would love to get my hands on that so-wrong-it’s-right homeware now). 

That was five full years before Tom Ford began shaking things up, making the brand sexy and the product desirable. After a recent lull, Gucci today is really hot once again with a major popularity surge under Alessandro Michele’s creative leadership, and I am back buying loafers. 

Similarly, I used to dread appointments at Berluti – I just could not get my head around the tattooed and painted shoes. I had no idea then that Berluti would blossom into one of my Paris fashion show must-sees and to boot, a staple in my wardrobe. Picky Nicky is always right, but knows when he judged too soon.

I never really paid proper attention to Anya Hindmarch, despite one of her stores being next to my Sunday post-Pilates breakfast stop, Ottolenghi on London’s Ledbury Road. I thought it was a perfectly good product, but I just wasn’t bothered. Then I spotted a video on Instagram, at the time of Hindmarch’s A/W 2014 show, called Counter Culture, where models pushed supermarket trolleys to a soundtrack of a scanner’s ping on a set built as a giant barcode. This was the launch of her ‘Crisp Packet’ handbag, all polished shiny metal like a portable Jeff Koons, and I really felt I had missed something. I had to learn more. By the A/W 2015 Diversion show, with its motorway set, catering by Little Chef and a finale that included the 100-strong London Gay Men’s Chorus belting out Pilgrims’ Chorus by Wagner in high-visibility jackets, I was properly hooked. Flawless fashion theatre at its very best, yet a proper focus on product. 

A visit to the Paris showroom to see the collection up close, plus the special windows at Antonia in Milan and Colette in Paris confirmed this was more than just catwalk antics. I think I may have smiled the most and applauded the loudest at Hindmarch’s latest show (above), over the mink fried eggs, pixelated leather marquetry, winking smiley face pockets and the illuminated moving Rubik’s Cube set.

I never dreamt I would pine over a pair of Berluti tattooed lace-ups, nor did I ever expect to consider a white sneaker with Hindmarch’s yellow winking emoji on the back tab. But then, I never thought I’d be sporting Alessandro Michele’s shaggy kangaroo-lined Gucci snaffle loafers either. Footwear as a conversation starter has never felt quite so fun. 

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When Picky Nicky judged too soon, almost:

Instagram: Despite the fact that I am presently obsessed with Instagram, the first time I was shown it, on a train from Milan to Florence, I failed to hook up. I was a little perplexed by the filters (which I never use), which were too gimmicky for me. My early adopter status was almost cancelled. 

Azucena: The first time I went to check out the furniture brand, in its original Milan showroom, I peered through gaps in the opaque glass, could hardly see a thing and could not locate the hidden entrance. Luckily, I made myself return – the back catalogue really is treasure.

Hyatt Hotels: After staying in a large Hyatt property in Taipei, I vowed never to stay again. Until the company opened its first Park Hyatt, that is.

Wallpaper*: As a client, I bought pages in the very first Wallpaper*, earning my full early adopter stars. But when the founding editor left, I assumed it was doomed. Months later I joined the team as a Milan stringer; this year marks my 14th and we celebrate 20 years at the top of our game.

As originally featured in the May 2016 of Wallpaper* (W*206)

INFORMATION

Illustrations: Danae Diaz

Most of the time, I search out novelty and innovation, new brands, designers, products, services or revolutionary retail concepts. I want to be the first to eat in the newest restaurants, stay in the latest hotels and discover the sweeping changes a new artistic director will make at a historic fashion house. Like any good opinion leader or early adopter, my radar is always tuning in to the next great thing. Wallpaper* prides itself on giving you, the reader, something you won’t read everywhere else; there is real value in genuine news and talented protagonists have great stories for us to tell.

Yet, sometimes, more of the very same is exactly what I crave. And that’s just what I get at Fourth Floor, where I’ve been having my hair cut for more than two decades. It occupies the third and fourth floors of an industrial building in Bloomsbury, decked out with Florence Knoll sofas,Vitsœ shelving and custom-made mirrors by Tom Dixon, one of many design heavy hitters among the clientele. In terms of a cut, ‘same again’ is what I ask for and what I get – I don’t have to think about it and we dispensed with the final mirror check years ago. Instead, I settle down for an hour’s chit-chat with salon owner Richard Stepney, a Wallpaper* subscriber for the past 20 years, and get up and go when it’s done. There are never any new treatments or services and they have not launched an app or online booking portal – they just do a really good job of cutting hair. I attach so much value to this service that I’ll always have two appointments in the diary, one five weeks ahead and one ten, so I never miss out.

It’s the same with my favourite hotels; I have them booked up a year in advance for busy design fair weeks. When I eat in my preferred restaurants, I don’t have to bother with the menu, I know what I want. And when I often buy multiples of the same clothes, Mr Porter’s order history is very handy. Some things just don’t need improving and can’t actually be bettered – think a ‘Barcelona’ chair, a Richard Schultz sun lounger, a Josef Hoffmann drinking set for Lobmeyr or the Pierre Balmain-designed uniforms that have been in continuous service at Singapore Airlines since 1968.

Thankfully, none of these are likely to be discontinued and replaced by something more up to date, but it can happen and it is frustrating. American Express once got rid of its signature Green Card in the UK market for a few years. It was introduced in 1969 and I had been using one since 1988. Luckily, Amex saw sense and phased out the tacky replacement. Innovate, yes, but don’t mess with perfection. Sometimes Picky Nicky wants more of the same.

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Same again, please: Picky Nicky’s never bettered, reissue wish list:

1. Martin Szekely’s ‘Bing One’ crystal side table, 2005, from Galerie Kreo, 120 kilos of perfection. I need a pair.
2. Tomas Maier’s fine, flesh-coloured cashmere V-neck with exposed seams from S/S 2009. I have literally worn it out.
3. Venini’s ‘Ciga’ decanter and glasses, originally created by Massimo Vignelli in 1979; corrugated glass never looked so fine.
4. Alpaca blankets from Agnona, from Massimo Alba’s era as creative director (2000–2002), with a subtle shading, in yellow or grey.
5. Aleksi Perälä’s ‘Ote’ stacking tumblers for Iittala from 2007, so useful for the everyday.
6. The ‘K3’ series electric kettle from Russell Hobbs, designed by William Russell and introduced in 1982 as an update to the ‘K2’.

As originally featured in the April 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*206)

INFORMATION

Illustrator: Danae Diaz

Necessity, not choice, led me to custom-made bedding. When I moved to Milan, I found that sizing in British and Italian beds and bedding was not standard, so I headed to Frette on via Manzoni, which had its own workshop on the premises, to make up my order. I was less bothered about trims, colours and monograms, the usual offer for bespoke bedding, instead focusing on fit and feel. Later, when my husband and I renovated our house in Florence and had a custom-built bed, I headed to Telerie Ghidoli. Despite being around since 1879, it’s a Milanese secret (mainly due to its relocation away from the city centre), but the range of high thread count Egyptian cotton on offer in its workshop blew me away.

During a visit to Hotel Schloss-Elmau in the Bavarian Alps, I started getting serious about pillows. Its pillows were particularly large and dreamily soft, filled with Siberian, Icelandic or Arctic goose down and feathers from Billerbeck, a German company that has been making pillows and duvets for almost a century. My feather fascination was furthered at Bettenrid, in Munich, where a small team of smartly uniformed seamstresses produces duvets and pillows to order. Clients select the casings as well as the fillings, including cashmere, camel hair, merino wool and down, and the very rare and elite eiderdown from Iceland. You can also choose the shape and size of your pillow or duvet, what filling or combination you want, and the density in grams, depending on your preference for firmness, softness or warmth.

The yucky bit is that some down and feathers are harvested from dead geese and ducks that have been raised and used for eggs, meat and foie gras. The materials can also be collected without harm during the moulting season, but birds are still live plucked, a cruel practice that is thankfully outlawed in Europe. So shop with care and ask questions.

When it comes to filling, nothing comes close to eiderdown. Only 2,500 kilos are produced each year in Iceland compared to the 8,000 kilos of vicuña flock, the noblest of all fibres, or the ten million or so kilos of, rather common, cashmere. Eiderdown regulates temperature and moisture better than anything else, and it’s sustainable. Each June, the wild Arctic eider duck lines its nest with the down shed naturally from its underbelly (a bare belly, it seems, is better for keeping the eggs warm). Only once the ducklings are hatched and the ducks have returned to the sea, is the precious down, just 17g per nest, collected. When you consider that around 500g is required for one duvet, you’ll understand why this appeals to Picky Nicky’s quality maniacal tendencies.

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The best places to find your perfect bed fellow:

Billerbeck: Pillows, cushions and duvets filled with Siberian, Icelandic or Arctic goose down and feathers. www.billerbeck.info
Bettenrid: Custom-made pillows, duvets and cushions, filled with cashmere, camel hair, merino wool and down, as well as rare Icelandic eiderdown. www.bettenrid.de
Hästens: The renowned handmade-bed firm uses the very best goose down to make duvets and pillows. www.hastens.com
Frette: A bespoke service includes bed, bath and table linens. Look for Giza 1,000 thread count. www.frette.com
Peter Reed: A Lancashire-based company that has been making fine bedding since 1861. www.peterreed.com
Telerie Ghidoli: The place that insiders head to in Milan for custom-made sheets, duvets and pillows. www.ghidoli.it

As originally featured in the March 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*204)

Tobia Scarpa’s sublime ‘Vanessa’ bed, with its twisted lacquered metal frame, is now easier to come by since its manufacturer Simon was acquired by Cassina. 

I admit that when I first heard about the Apple Watch Hermès collection, I was kind of torn. Impressed by the partnership of two brilliant brands, and personally attracted by the Double Tour bracelet in Fauve Barenia leather, I did think the collaboration would instantly enhance the desirability of the Apple Watch. Yet, even as a loyal client of both companies, I wondered if this project somehow belittled the Hermès watch already on my wrist.

I bought my Cape Cod Double Tour at Hermès Milan around 15 years ago and it only comes off my wrist when I work out (more on that later). The watch was created in 1991 by Henri d’Origny; in 1998, the brand’s then womenswear director, Martin Margiela, introduced the double strap, known as the Double Tour. Although I have a Fauve Barenia strap in the cupboard, the one I wear is in Étrivière raw bridle leather. So my rather selfish thought was, is the new Apple Watch Hermès too accessible, will it reduce the desirability of my watch, or make it redundant even for me? Hermès is a brand out of reach to most, yet Apple represents the very best of accessible design (relatively speaking) and the Apple Watch Hermès is priced at £1,150 for a Double Tour, albeit in a limited number of stores.

At the launch dinner for the watch on the roof of Hermès’ 24 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré HQ, I met the Apple team, including Sir Jonathan Ive; Kevin Lynch, vice president of technology and the software genius behind the watch; and Jay Blahnik, director of fitness and health technologies, who heads up fitness software development. And, guess what, I am hooked.

You see, I always wanted more from the Nike+ app, which I used to use to track my runs. I tried the Garmin Forerunner, a GPS running watch, but gave up on it after 11 months, as I was bored of it searching for a satellite for up to ten minutes. The Apple Watch’s Workout app uses GPS via your iPhone and can track and measure specific workouts including running, rowing and cycling, which suits me really well. But it’s the Activity app with its Move, Exercise and Stand rings that will change the way we live and work, get us up from the desk for a minute once an hour and way more.

When I learnt about the medical and health resources that Apple’s fitness team in Cupertino have to play with, I realized this is just the start. When working out, I can use the fluoroelastomer sport strap and then snap back in the leather Double Tour with a simple slide and click. Now I just have to work out a way to wear both the original Cape Cod and the Apple Watch Hermès – so look out for Picky Nicky trying to work a double Double Tour.

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Apple goes swell for leather

The case: the Apple Watch Hermès’ stainless steel case is etched with the Hermès signature

The dial: the digital dial designs are inspired by Clipper, Cape Cod and Espace Hermès watches

Double Tour strap: the 38mm model with my favoured Double Tour strap offers a choice of Fauve Barenia leather and Bleu Jean, Capucine and Étain Swift leather

Single Tour strap: the 38mm with a Single Tour strap is available in Fauve Barenia leather, Noir Box leather and Capucine Swift leather

42mm case with Single Tour: this slightly wider model comes with a Single Tour strap in Fauve Barenia leather and Noir Box leather

42mm case with Cuff: the chunky Cuff strap is available in Fauve Barenia leather

As originally featured in the January 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*202)

INFORMATION

Illustrator: Danae Diaz

If you think about it, ‘managing your preferences’ is a slightly odd concept, full of potential, but in reality a big disappointment and just a tool for brands to send you marketing emails and sell your data to other parties, whose products or services you are unlikely to be interested in.

I use British Airways at least twice a month and always choose to sit in the same seat, yet I am consistently allocated one nearby and have to reselect it myself, a sign of preferences ignored. I once asked the purser in charge of my cabin what her iPad said about me; all she could see was that I am a gold executive club member, my points status, plus my last and next flight – bare and basic information, which was not much use to the crew or me.

If I walk into Fischer’s in London’s Marylebone, Marchesi in Milan or Pasticceria Stefania in Florence – three of my usual breakfast haunts – they all know how I like my coffee. Sure, it’s easy enough for me to order it, but my preference has been noted and my repeat custom is clearly valued. When I check into the Hotel Thoumieux in Paris or the Park Hyatt Milan, they have cleared the room of robes, brought in extra hangers, added a blanket and turned off the TV and the AC for me. However, when I visited the new Park Hyatt New York for the first time, they knew none of this, nor the rest of my preferences that have been picked up and noted by the Milan team over the past 12 years. The good news is that Hyatt is in the process of implementing a new guest experience management system that will allow better sharing of local information about good clients from one property to another.

Oddly enough, things are not much more evolved online, although they should be – all the information is there if you know how to read it. The first advertisement that popped up on my Instagram feed was for McDonald’s – needless to say, Picky Nicky does not do Big Macs, yet everything about my tastes and interests is right there in my feed and posts. Thread.com, a new men’s shopping site, promises: ‘With the help of Thread’s algorithm, your stylist is going to choose from thousands of items to find clothes you’ll love.’ After setting up my profile, I was allocated a stylist. Her very prominent nose ring made me nervous as to what she might suggest, perhaps a sign that I am not quite their target age group, but the concept seems interesting.

For those brands I use that simply won’t take note of my preferences, perhaps it’s time I took charge. I need to volunteer my likes, dislikes and choices, proactively offering them up. My preferences, not theirs.

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A few personal preferences – or how to keep Picky Nicky happy:

I detest food served on square plates.

I hate nylon tea bags, and strong tea so please bring the leaves and the hot water.

Print-at-home tickets should be advert-free.

Give me a real receipt, not an email. I don’t want to do your printing for you.

Don’t interrupt my online visit with a survey.

If I come back for the third time, I like the place so treat me well.

I hate air conditioning, so seat me away from it and keep it off in my room.

I value peace and quiet more than anything, so give me a quiet room.

It’s highly unlikely anyone knows what I like more than I do, so bear that in mind.

Only Hermès’ Véronique Nichanian and Berluti’s Alessandro Sartori know how to dress me better than I do.

I am impossible to please with gifts, so just go to the WallpaperSTORE* – I chose everything there.

In a superlative example of utilitarian luxe, designer Lorenza Bozzoli takes the classic jar, upgrades glass for Carrara and Marquina marble and adds a swanky brass closure.

INFORMATION

Illustrator: Danae Diaz

Brass Animals: Part of a charming miniature menagerie designed by Mitsumasa Kokubo for Nousaku, these small stylised brass animals come with a mirror finish that will acquire a warm patina with age. The item comes with a sanding cloth so you can choose to restore it to its original state, or let time make its mark on it. Available at the Wallpaper* Store.

Founded in 1916, Nousaku is based in Takaoka, a city on Japan’s main island of Honshu that has been known for its metalwork since the 17th century. Having started by producing altar fittings, vases and tea sets, Nousaku’s craftsmen now create all kinds of exquisite cast metal pieces in tin, brass and bronze, using traditional techniques as well as specially developed silicon moulds

'Tis officially the gifting season and time to think stocking fillers. Our edit, from WallpaperSTORE*, is all about gleaming goodies in gold, brass and bronze.

Small yet perfectly formed, these are treats that your nearest and dearest are sure to treasure. Our suggestions include Mitsumasa Kokubo’s miniature menagerie from Nousaku; ‘Odeurs Royales' mini candle set from Cire Trudon; Carl Auböck’s playful cast polished brass key rings; Jan Philip Holler’s 'AC10 Haus’ paper weights from E15; 'The clip' paperclip set by Tom Dixon; Postalco’s hand milled brass ’Abacus Totem' key holders; Mark Holmes' brass pocket mirror from Minimalux; the ‘Love Heart’ coffee mug featuring Alexander Girard’s motif from Vitra; and the 'Classic' paperweight, rollerball pen and magnet set by Yi & Yanko, for YStudio of Taiwan.

Our very own creative market place for design, WallpaperSTORE* stocks, wraps and dispatches our pick of the finely formed and forward thinking from around the world

Nick Vinson, also known as Picky Nicky, has been an editor at Wallpaper* since 2012, curates the selection for WallpaperSTORE*, where he is general merchandising manager and also pens the monthly 'Vinson View' column in Wallpaper*

'Oudeurs Royales': The Odeurs Royales candle set from Cire Trudon contains three opulent scents that recall the magnificence of the Grand Siècle, when Louis XIV reigned supreme. Fragrances include: Trianon, Solis Rex and La Marquise. Available at the WallpaperSTORE*.

The oldest and most prestigious wax manufacturer in the world, Cire Trudon boasts an impressive and storied history of traditional candle-making that dates back to the 17th century. From its humble beginnings in 1643 as a small local shop under the ownership of a grocer and wax merchant in Rue Saint-Honoré, Paris, to supplying the French monarchy with exquisite fragrances – and surviving the birth of the 'electric revolution' during Napoleon's reign – the French powerhouse has heroically conquered the wax and parfum industry for over four decades. Hand-blown candle vessels, the brand's signature golden emblem, exotically-influenced base notes and impulsively titled colognes are among a few of Cire Trudon's many distinguishing elements that, to this day, remain unremitting in their exquisite sense of refined olfaction and candle making

Key rings: Bauhaus-trained Carl Auböck II is an influential figure of Austrian modernism and his original workshop in Vienna still houses the family business. The company’s portfolio of hand-made pieces includes these playful key rings, made of polished brass and available from the WallpaperSTORE*.

A metal workshop founded in the 19th century, Carl Auböck is still situated in its original premises, with the fourth generation of the family now at the helm. The company is famous for the modernist designs of Auböck II, the current owner’s grandfather, which include thousands of original objects and pieces of furniture, most of them made of polished brass

'AC10 Haus': Though technically a paper weight, Haus is a playfully ambiguous item that can be utilised in a multitude of ways throughout the home and office. Designed by Jan Philip Holler in 2013, the piece is made from brass and belongs to a series of four differently shaped architectural forms which are at once light-hearted and introspective. Available from the WallpaperSTORE*.

Taking its name from the postcode of its very first workshop in East London, E15 was founded in 1995. Bringing together high-grade materials and handcrafted production methods, the Frankfurt-based brand offers a diverse yet distinct collection of objects for the home. Led by co-founder and architect Philipp Mainzer, and designer and art director Farah Ebrahimi, E15 is renowned for its collaborations with designers, architects and artists to produce furniture, lighting and accessories

'The clip' paperclip set: Part of Tom Dixon’s ‘Tool’ collection, this set of six paperclips in various geometric shapes was created from a single sheet of solid brass. Embossed with the designer’s heritage logo, 'Eclectic', and stylishly packaged, they are the perfect gift for stationery fans. The range also includes a ruler, a geometry set, more clips and a stencil sheet, all available at the WallpaperSTORE*.

Tunisian-born British designer Tom Dixon dropped out of the Chelsea School of Art to play bass in a band, before teaching himself first to weld, then to produce furniture. By the late 1980s he was designing the iconic ‘S’ chair for Cappellini. A former creative director at Habitat, Dixon is best known for his sleek light fixtures and chic interior designs for the likes of Shoreditch House and Mondrian London

‘Totem' key holders: A neat alternative to a traditional key ring, the ‘Abacus Totem’ is a solid brass rod on which keys can be threaded by unscrewing a small cap. As its name indicates, its wonderfully simple design is inspired by the pearls on an abacus. Hand-milled by Postalco’s team of skilled artisans in Japan, it accommodates up to ten flat keys. Available from the WallpaperSTORE*.

Specialising in beautifully made stationery and leather goods, Postalco was founded in New York in 2000, after bag designer Mike Abelson created an envelope-shaped case for his wife Yuri, a graphic designer who needed something to cart her paperwork around in. Now based in Tokyo, the husband-and-wife team continues to create supremely practical, understated accessories, from wallets to key holders

Brass pocket mirror: Minimalux's lifestyle accessories contrast a pared-back aesthetic with labouriously pored-over design details. This 50mm pocket mirror features a subtle satin brass rim and polished brass back. It has been expertly cut for a clean and modern shape, and of course, it is available from the WallpaperSTORE*.

Founded in 2009 by design troubadour Mark Holmes, Minimalux is a London-based design brand and global online retailer that specialises in beautifully pared-back home and lifestyle accessories. A collision between unique polar opposites gives Minimalux's distinguished collections their one-of-a-kind identities; through intertwining simple shapes with splendorous design elements, the brand's lighting, furniture, tableware and jewellery designs – each exquisitely crafted from premium materials – comprise a robust and effortlessly contemporary force

'Love-heart' coffee mug: American post-war designer Alexander Girard’s exploration of colours and shapes led to the creation of hundreds of textile patterns and clever objects for the modern home. The Vitra porcelain coffee mug range features different motifs from the designer’s rich archive, available at the WallpaperSTORE*.

Few contemporary furniture manufacturers have made the impact Vitra has. The Swiss company collaborates with leading designers from across the globe on products, furniture and exciting projects such as the Vitra Campus architecture and the Vitra Design Museum. Many of its 'Classics' range have been in continuous production since the 1950s

'Classic' paperweight: Taiwanese stationary experts ystudio dedicate their work to the creation of powerfully minimal everyday objects – such as this paperweight. Designed by the firm’s founders, Yi & Yanko, the gold-coloured brass piece will hold your documents in place, while adding a sculptural touch to your desk. Find it at the WallpaperSTORE*.

ystudio was founded in 2012, aiming to create objects with meaning and imagination. Simplicity in design is one of the brand’s core values; the company’s powerfully minimal stationary pieces were created to bring beauty to everyday life

The ‘Urbino’ dinner service from Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur (KPM), designed in 1930 by Trude Petri. This is about as simple and timeless as you can get. Gio Ponti’s ‘Conca’ cutlery from Sambonet, in a rich and festive black fnish. Stemware has to be the ‘Tommy’ service from Cristalleries de Saint-Louis, using a mixture of all the available colours. The stag antler-handled carving knife and fork from Cedes Milano, run by Mauro Lorenzi of G Lorenzi fame. As an elaborate centrepiece, a collection of ‘Uccellini’ from Matteo Thun Atelier – birds made of Murano glass. Ted Muehling’s porcelain branch candlesticks from Nymphenburg, with coloured candles from Ester & Erik.

In my first November living in Milan, in around 1999, I was invited to a Thanksgiving dinner being held by an American friend. Not quite knowing what to expect, I turned up at his apartment with Christmas pudding and mince pies, mistakenly thinking they were appropriate for a meal that included stuffed and roasted turkey. These British Christmas staples went down OK with the Brits present; less so with the Americans, and worse still with the Italians.

For my next seven years living in the city, I happily accepted invitations from American expats each November, and since settling back in the UK I have not passed up the opportunity to travel back to Milan at this time of year, specifically to partake of the festivities.

Our Italy editor-at-large, JJ Martin, has been the hostess since 2005. Occasionally her Californian and Italian family attend, but on the whole the guests include Milan-based Americans (who often contribute sweet potato purée or pumpkin pie), Brits (with wine or flowers) and Italians, travelling from as far as Sicily, loaded with cassata and other sweets. Rather than just family, the crowd includes fashion, design and architecture heavy-hitters. JJ prepares amazing food and the A-listers’ restaurant of choice, Da Giacomo, cooks the bird, as turkey for 45 is something of a challenge for a domestic Gaggenau.

Christmas can feel like an inconvenient interruption these days (we can’t escape to the sun until it’s over), so as a non-North American I am only too happy to adopt Thanksgiving as a new holiday and am all for using my influence to encourage it to go global. Naturally, I love a perfectly set table and the chance to get all the good stuff out. Visit store.wallpaper.com this month and you will see a big focus on entertaining, with everything you will need to serve up in style. Curating that offer is kind of like planning multiple Thanksgivings myself, without having to do the washing-up afterwards.

Logically, the next step is to host my own international Thanksgiving. I’d love to get all our friends to jet in for the weekend. I would have it in the mountains, perhaps in the Südtirol, conveniently located in the middle of Europe. I would invite Margot Henderson to cook, tweaking the traditional offering in an attempt to keep the Italians happy – they can’t cope with mixing things on their plate. Margot once cooked in Milan for Kvadrat during Salone del Mobile. She relished shopping in the local markets and the food was exceptional. As for the dessert, I will pass on the pumpkin pie, but Margot will mix up a cranberry version of Christmas pudding – hopefully that will catch on, too.

Right: TAF’s green linen napkins come with hand-faggotted borders and handappliquéd cockerels. The 1970s design is kitsch but cute. €25 each; left: the new ‘Collo-alto’ cutlery by Inga sempé for alessi includes these serving utensils. I like the extra-deep prongs. Collo-alto, €40, from WallpaperSTORE*

INFORMATION

See Picky Nicky’s Thanksgiving edits, including minimalist, top table must-haves and rich pickings for a baroque do

This week's composition from WallpaperSTORE* is decorative, elaborate, a touch baroque and suitably eclectic – which is what makes it a winner for the holiday season that is kicking off right now. Get properly prepared for those full-on festive dinners, whether for Thanksgiving in a fortnight or Christmas next month, as nothing sets the tone more than a stunningly set table.

Find out more about Vanessa Mitrani's Highball cube gravity glasses here

Start things off with a golden plate decorated with a Medusa head by Versace for Rosenthal. Add a snake or two in the form of a napkin ring and a serpent handled tray from L’Objet. And why not finish things off with Vanessa Mitrani’s delicate cube gravity glasses, a pair of pagoda-shaped salt and pepper holders (also from L’Objet), Tom Dixon's facetted 'Gem' vase and a trio of 'Tulip' candlesticks, by Pierre Forssell for Skultuna?

Find out more about Skultuna's 'Tulip' candlesticks here

Our very own creative market place for design, WallpaperSTORE* stocks, wraps and dispatches our pick of the finely formed and forward thinking from around the world

Nick Vinson, also known as Picky Nicky, has been an editor at Wallpaper* since 2012, curates the selection for WallpaperSTORE*, where he is general merchandising manager and also pens the monthly 'Vinson View' column in Wallpaper*

INFORMATION

Shop Picky Nicky’s edit now at Wallpaper*STORE

Now its November, that means one thing to me and that’s Thanksgiving. Therefore it is the perfect time to start planning how to set your top table.

This minimal proposition from WallpaperSTORE* - composed of refined elegant shapes crafted in crystal, black nickel, stainless steel, rich wood and graphic porcelain, above - we call 'American Piety.'

Find out more about Gio Ponti's conca soup ladle here

Take it all, or make your own selection from Gio Ponti’s black nickel centrepiece, Conca soup ladle for Sambonet and  Bubble salt & pepper shakers by Gordon Guillaumier for Paola C. My other favourites include Orchestra dinner service by David/Nicolas for Vistra Alegre; flatware by Louise Campbell for Georg Jensen; Suiren dishes in Japanese zelkova wood from Time & Style; Josef Hoffmann’s 1917 stemware and Oswald Haerdtl's spherical glass Candy Dish, both for Lobmeyr; and the slender 'Boquet' vase by Mist-o for Ichendorf Milano.

Find out more about Oswald Haerdtl's 'Candy' dish here

Our very own creative market place for design, WallpaperSTORE* stocks, wraps and dispatches our pick of the finely formed and forward thinking from around the world.

Nick Vinson, also known as Picky Nicky, has been an editor at Wallpaper* since 2012, curates the selection for WallpaperSTORE*, where he is general merchandising manager and also pens the monthly 'Vinson View' column in Wallpaper*.

INFORMATION

Shop Picky Nicky’s edit now at WallpaperSTORE*

Autumn is the perfect moment to create your own lightscape, and right now I suggest a curated composition of candelabra and candleholders in warming brass and wood and a finely formed scented candle or scent diffuser for a suitably seasonal aroma.

Find out more about Carl Auböck's polished candle holders here

This edit, all from WallpaperSTORE*, includes Mark Holmes’ monumental 'U' candleholder from Minimalux, Skultuna’s spindly 'Nattlight' by Richard Hutten, a pair of patinated and polished chunky Carl Auböck candlesticks, Ilse Crawford’s oval understatement from Georg Jensen and Giulio Iacchetti’s turned wood 'Todi' from Internoitaliano.

Scented candles should smell great but also deliver on good looks, so consider 'Ernesto' from Cire Trudon (below), the black and gold glazed 'Soli E Lune Nero' from Fornasetti, or the natural honed horn beauty of Arcahorn.

Find out more about Cire Trudon candles here

Our very own creative market place for design, WallpaperSTORE* stocks, wraps and dispatches our pick of the finely formed and forward thinking from around the world. 

Nick Vinson, also known as Picky Nicky, has been an editor at Wallpaper* since 2012, curates the selection for WallpaperSTORE*, where he is general merchandising manager and also pens the monthly 'Vinson View' column in Wallpaper*.

INFORMATION

Shop Picky Nicky’s edit now at WallpaperSTORE*

Available at WallpaperSTORE*, Cedes Milano uses specialist craftsmanship and natural materials – such as antler, horn, bamboo, leather and exotic woods – to create long-lasting pieces to use and love

This handsome, horny and decidedly dapper edit of dressing room desirables, bar essentials and desk top necessities from WallpaperSTORE* is made up of exquisite, one of a kind tools.

Find out more about the travelling shoe care set here

Crafted from precious cocobolo and ovangkol wood, grained leather and glorious antler, that majestic and precious material naturally shed and regrown each year by the stag or roe deer.

My pick of the week includes a shaving set and glass dome that looks just as good on its own, leather box, a travelling brush especially developed for cashmere with its own leather case, shoe horn, pocket mirror, magnifying glass, letter opener and a cork screw that every bar should have. All these wonders have been produced by hand in the Milanese workshops of Cedes Milano, run by Mauro Lorenzi, grandson of Giovanni Lorenzi of G.Lorenzi fame.

Find out more about the stag antler handled shoehorn here

Our very own creative market place for design, WallpaperSTORE* stocks, wraps and dispatches our pick of the finely formed and forward thinking from around the world. 

Nick Vinson, also known as Picky Nicky, has been an editor at Wallpaper* since 2012, curates the selection for WallpaperSTORE*, where he is general merchandising manager and also pens the monthly 'Vinson View' column in Wallpaper*.

INFORMATION

Shop Picky Nicky’s edit now at WallpaperSTORE*

Later this month, many of will be turning our clocks back. One consolation for the shorter days is that it’s time to stock up on lighting, to ensure that you, your spaces and all that stuff that refines you looks as good as possible. The WallpaperSTORE* lighting edit will transform your table, console or desk with a click of a switch.

Find out more about Objekto's 'Eclipse' lamp here

This week's exemplary illuminations include Inga Sempé’s charming shaded 'Sempé w103' table lamp for Sweden’s Wästberg, Omer Arbel’s blown glass '28d' sphere for Canadian specialists Bocci, Nendo’s pinched 'Press Lamp', in clear or smoke, for Bohemian glass maker Lasvit or Mark Holmes’s pared down, barely there, 'Neon' table light, in folded steel for London’s Minimalux. For something more classic there is the Anglepoise 'Original 1227 Desk Lamp', below, and from Brazil’s Objekto, Mauricio Klabin’s 1982 'Eclipse' lamp, above.

Find out more about the Anglepoise 'Original 1227 Desk Lamp' here

Our very own creative market place for design, WallpaperSTORE* stocks, wraps and dispatches our pick of the finely formed and forward thinking from around the world. 

Nick Vinson, also known as Picky Nicky, has been an editor at Wallpaper* since 2012, curates the selection for WallpaperSTORE*, where he is general merchandising manager and also pens the monthly 'Vinson View' column in Wallpaper*.

INFORMATION

Shop Picky Nicky's edit now at WallpaperSTORE*

It's officially autumn so I am falling for these tactile treasures for the table or desk,  all formed in warm, wondrous wood.

The WallpaperSTORE* edit, selected from all over the globe, has been carved and crafted from solid walnut, oak and mahogany plus the rather more exotic sounding samak and Japanese kalopanax, before being hand-waxed or oiled for your pleasure.

Find out more about Michael Verheyden’s Lighthouse candlesticks here

This weeks picks to please the eyes, caress the hands and transform your spaces include Finn Juhl’s 1956 Turning Tray by Architectmade; Philipp Mainzer’s Pen tray and paperweight plus Mark Braun’s Turn fruit bowl by E15; Giulio Iacchetti’s Itri candleholder and Emmanuel Zonta’s Parè toy fish, both by Internoitaliano; Kihachi Kobo’s turned bowls by Japanese design company Metrocs; and if the scent of wood was not already good enough, Serra & Fonseca’s solid perfume comes wrapped in a mahogany case.

Find out more about Produzione Privata’s ’Bisonte’ stool here

Our very own creative market place for design, stocks, wraps and dispatches our pick of the finely formed and forward thinking from around the world

Nick Vinson, also known as Picky Nicky, has been an editor at Wallpaper* since 2012, curates the selection for WallpaperSTORE*, where he is general merchandising manager and also pens the monthly ’Vinson View’ column in Wallpaper*

INFORMATION

Shop Picky Nicky’s edit now at Wallpaper*STORE

Ever restless, Wallpaper* Handmade upped its perfectly proportioned sticks again this year, installing itself (well, we helped) in a semi-retired stretch of Milanese store fronts to create the Wallpaper* Arcade. We were determined that this year's Handmade event be the biggest, best and most bountiful yet. And so it was; not least our opening bash, now well established as Salone's swingingest party.

This year we were joined by Tom Dixon, Patricia Urquiola, Konstantin Grcic, Philippe Malouin, Maurizio Cattelan and many other luminaries who enjoyed the more interactive elements of this year's exhibition: including the Wallpaper* nail bar; live hair styling by the legendary Jimo Salako; and the remarkable 'Rotunda Seronita' snack bar, dispensing not only savoury treats but their own handmade cherry wood trays.

Of course, such scale and ambition does not come easy and we again have to thank the many friends, old and new, who provided invaluable assistance and supplies. The champagne flowed freely thanks to Veuve Clicquot, whose Re-creation Awards installation of re-imagined mail boxes proved a particular favourite, while Royal Salute served wonderful whisky at their remarkable 'Neolithic' bar, designed by Studio Mackereth and crafted by Jack Badger. The highest-grade grappa came courtesy of Nonino (try saying that after a few glasses) whilst beer was supplied by San Miguel (summer in a bottle as far we're concerned).

Given this year's culinary theme, the catering had to impress and we served up a monumental stretch of Italian favourites, including generous dollops of organic panettone gelato from local favourites, Grom. We also flew in St John sous chef Arnold Hoeksma who cooked up bone marrow pizza at the Emeco space while the young craftsmen Josh Fisher bent, beat and shaped metal into unique editions of Jasper Morrison's 'Alfi' chair.

The Wallpaper* Arcade – a collaborative effort in the best tradition of Handmade – was brightened by Kvadrat's spectacular multi-colour colonnade as well as the multidisciplinary delights of d3 Dubai Design District; the contemporary crafted carpets of AfghanMade; and Gufram's prickly pop-up lounge.

Finally, a huge thank you to the event sponsors, Veuve Clicquot, Hästens and Monoqi Business, and, of course, Leclettico's Claudio Loria, whose ambition and drive matches our own.