Style findings: October dispatches from the Wallpaper* fashion team

Hang on!
23 October

Winners of our ‘Best Repurpose’ category in this years’ Design Awards, we’re hanging onto OAO Works latest alluring offering. These hangers in its 89 series are made through a 3D scanning process that manipulates everyday objects to reveal their basic cavity. The warped shape made by the scanner is then used to create a mold made from sand, where molten brass is then poured. The sand that comes into contact with the brass distorts the outer texture, leaving the metal with pitted marks that become even more eye-catching with a brushed gold finish. With every form taking a slightly different shape, the 89 hangers seem reminiscent of autumnal twigs, fitting with the belief here at Wallpaper*, that hangers should be equally as stylish as the clothes that hang upon them.

Writer: Katie Meston

Cool stool
22 October

Here at Wallpaper*, we pay close to attention to the various iterations of Artek’s Stool 60 Ystävä designs, like Heath Ceramics’ take of the design in 2018, which was given a universe-inspired finish. ‘In both Sweden and Finland, for our generation born in the early 1980s, the first encounter with Alvar Aalto and Artek’s furniture would often be in a public space such as a visit to the library, the doctor’s office, or even earlier at day care or in school,’ says co-founder of Our Legacy Jockum Hallin. Via its recycle hub Our Legacy Workshop, the Swedish label has artistically upcycled a series of Artek’s Stool 60 Ystävä’s, presented at Dover Street Market Ginza. There’s a scribbled aesthetic behind the designs, which are scrawled with permanent marker doodles, collaged, emblazoned with a smoking skull or the yin-yang symbol. ‘We have taken inspiration from our youth, school years and time spent in public spaces. Elements such as carvings on the school bench top, pins from the note board, woodwork burning and graffiti tags on the public bathroom wall decorates a number of Artek Stool 60 Ystävä, applied in our signature multi technique layering,’ Hallin adds.

Writer: Laura Hawkins

Cali cool
21 October

Drift down Draycott Avenue in London’s Chelsea and you’ll notice its recent wave of retail activity. Just last week forte_forte and Fusalp opened new outposts on the elegant street, and now LA label Vince has also chosen the SW3 location as the site of its first permanent European bricks-and-mortar boutique. Step inside the two-floor 1400 sq ft space and you’ll be forgiven for thinking you’re in the cradle of a Cali-cool hotspot, decked out in neutral tones, comfy Seventies furniture and a populated with lush plants and foliage. Haven’t ambled down Draycott Avenue of late? We suggest you take a saunter soon.

Writer: Laura Hawkins

A beautiful mind
18 October

‘When you design you consider both: beauty and function,’ says furniture and jewellery designer and Wallpaper* Handmade 2019 collaborator Lara Bohnic. ‘I think function is something mathematical that you have to achieve, it’s a necessary component but beauty is more undefinable, is something that I over strive to get.’ Bohnic’s vision of beauty is just one of a collective of perspectives articulated by creatives including Formafantasma designers Simone Farresin & Andrea Trimarchi, sound artist Yuri Suzuki and urban designer Arthur Kay, compiled into Santoni’s sophomore version of ‘On Beauty’ a series of exploratory images and films shot by South African film director and photographer Koto Bolofo. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it’s safe to ascertain that the label’s sleek triple strap buckle boots, velvet loafers and suede hiking boots tick all the aesthetic concept’s boxes, and we encourage you to explore Santonis’ range of interpretations asap.

Writer: Laura Hawkins

Material melody
17 October

There’s poetic penchant behind forte_forte’s London newest boutique, which has opened in the heart of Chelsea. Similar to the intimate interiors found in its Milan and Paris stores, this new chapter in the Venetian brand’s narrative journey tells a story through tactile materials and warm colours that echoes the uniqueness of this new location. A pixelated brick wall and red clay block nod to city buildings and dress the long and narrow space leading to a bright courtyard where stands, in the centre, a Japanese maple tree. This compact wall structure is punctuated by inserts of gold leaf and turquoise ceramic, while the terracotta floor received hand-made treatments and finishes. Around the cash desk made of a pebbled stone, precious yellow onyx, metallic blades and gilded brass act as delicate display elements and contrast with the voluptuous velvet curtains and leather furniture found in the changing rooms. From the luxuriant plants to the sea view paintings, an exotic atmosphere pervades the store in constant movement and invites us to a faraway destination.  

Writer: Morgane Nyfeler 

Greatest knits
16 October
 
This year marks the 235th year of John Smedley, making it the oldest still operating knitwear factory worldwide. To celebrate this momentous anniversary, the brand has delved into its extensive archive to inspire a capsule collection of knit essentials made entirely from farmed and spun wool that has been knitted and hand finished in the UK. The collection also features a limited unisex jumper made from British Guanaco – a super fine wool never before spun by the brand.

Writer: Jason Hughes
 

Redeeming qualities
15 October

Luca Guadagnino knows a thing or two about rock star aesthetics. Take 2015’s A Bigger Splash, in which the Sicilian director chartered the doomed holiday of ageing rock star Marianne Lane, played by the sublimely styled Tilda Swinton. ‘We conjured up the flair of rock-and-roll that melds with the timeless elegance of interiors,’ says the movie maverick of Milan-based Studio Luca Guadagnino’s collaboration with five year old label Redemption on the brand’s first retail space on Wooster Street, New York. An image of the Rolling Stones recording an album in a Cote D’Azur home in the Seventies, formed the starting point of the retail design, and the store is modelled on a French Haussmann appartment, and swathed in luxurious claret tones, a triptych of travertine and chevron-panelled Trentino timber. More boudoir than boutique, the multiroom space also houses a plethora of magnificent furniture pieces, including a Fifties Venini glass chandelier, vintage Gio Ponti armchairs and a ceciling constructed from a graphic tessellation of Murano glass beams. 

Writer: Laura Hawkins

Techno tailoring
14 October

Men’s swimwear expert Orlebar Brown dive into techo tailoring this season with the launch of its OB Black Collection. Blending high functionality with the brands sartorial take on swimwear, the new monochromatic collection appears exclusively in obsidian black and grey mélange and focuses on key apparel pieces in specially developed technical fabrics with bonded seams – swim shorts come streamlined with ‘now sew’ technology replacing stitch lines, while tailored fit tees come in a perspiration resistant fabric that dries four times faster than cotton. Essentials for those keen to master the art of minimalist, pared-back dressing with a techno touch.

Writer: Jason Hughes
 

Mythic method
11 October

There’s an illustrated allure behind Lanvin’s latest retail space in New York’s Soho, the first imagined under the visual direction of Bruno Sialelli, who took the creative helm of the Parisian maison in January 2019. There’s a fluidity behind the designer’s aesthetic, which for his A/W 2019 debut saw handkerchief hem dresses imagined in medieval print silks and caped knits in the house’s signature Quattrocento blue. This freedom is reflected in the freehand Grecian paintings which adorn the walls of the space – which also features exposed bare brick, a monochromatic tiled floor and mirrored elements – created by London-based artist and designer Luke Edward Hall, who has recently worked with The Rug Company, Le Sirenuse and Berry Bros. & Rudd. Here, painted toga-clad figures pluck lyres and sit atop columns, and form a Delphic backdrop to the house’s accessories, which perch on straight shelves, bisecting the mythic mural.

Writer: Laura Hawkins

Craft works
10 October

For the March 2019 ‘Style Special’ issue of Wallpaper*, we took a whistlestop tour around the different workshops in Chanel’s Métiers d’art cannon – which span a selection of acclaimed artisanal workshops – from 1858-founded embroiderer and tweed maker Maison Lesage, based in Pantin, France, to 1903-founded cashmere specialist Barrie, established in Borders, Scotland. Now, the house has announced the inauguration of Le 19M, a 25,000m² building complex, designed by Rudy Ricciotti, and located in  Porte d’Aubervilliers, which will open in 2020, and house Chanel’s Lesage, Montex, Massaro, Lemarié, Maison Michel, Lognon, Paloma and Goossens and Eres Métiers d’art craftsman. These workshops span shoemaking, millinery, lingerie construction and jewellery design, and during a period of rapid digital growth within the luxury industry, emphasise the importance or artisanal time-honed craft, from a whisp of delicate lace used to embellishes a dress or a cloche created to complete a catwalk ensemble. 

Photography: Chris Brooks. Writer: Laura Hawkins

Pattern play
10 October

In 2015, 25-year-old Laurence Leenaert decamped from Kortrijk in Belgium to Marrakesh in Morocco. It was an exceptional move that nonetheless made sense: she wanted to approach Moroccan materials and techniques in a novel way. Along the road, Laurence’s collection of interior objects grew into a lifestyle brand, LRNCE, which offers leather bags, textiles, rugs and ceramics – her own idiosyncratic iterations of the objects traditionally found in a medina – handmade in small batches in collaboration with North African artisans.

International stores from Seoul to New York have taken note, but it’s the Belgian brand Bellerose who are the first to tap LRNCE for an exclusive collaboration that comprises four t-shirts and a candle that comes in a terracotta bowl. The hand-painted pieces are recognizably LRNCE thanks to their signature expressive abstract motifs that remind of surrealism. Find them exclusively in Bellerose stores in Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent and Paris, or online via from tomorrow 10 October.

Writer: Siska Lyssens

Peaceful vision
8 October

Think of athletic expert District Vision’s collaboration with street art supreme André on a pair its signature Nagata Speed Blade sunglasses as your own optical version of a graffiti tag. New York-based duo Tom Daly and Max Vallot’s designs are honed to support a runners’ needs, and District Vision’s handmade-in-Japan frames are crafted from ultra-lightweight nylon and a titanium frame construction, with a lens handcut and polished for optimum visibility. The lens of Andrés’ creation has particular power, as the French graffiti artist’s ‘Mountains of Peace’ artwork has been applied to the surface, an image visible only when breathed on or when condensed. The pink and blue frames are limited to 300 styles, and we suggest you don your most streamlined athletic gear, and get running after a pair.

Writer: Laura Hawkins

Croc rock
7 October

There’s a snappy sensibility behind Louise Trotter’s debut A/W 2019 runway collection for Lacoste. With an offering which paid tribute to bygone sporting excellence, incorporating the tennis-associated house’s signature polo shirt, with voluminous shapes and tones of citrus yellow and Lacoste Vert 132 green, Trotter also paid homage to the label’s cute crocodile logo. The motif was invented in 1927 by Robert George, and for A/W 2019, was encompassed as a trailing fringed embroidery on a spliced cricket jumper, and as a reptilious key protector on a long lanyard. We’re keen to get our teeth into this 3D version of the logo; a humorous crocodile-shape leather clutch bag with a protruding tail and sharp gnashers.

Writer: Laura Hawkins

Puff pieces 
4 October

S/S 2020’s fashion weeks demonstrated that beige is still the standout shade for front rowers and that camel toned coats are here to stay. The shows also proved that a staple label of this luxe look is Kassl Editions, whose expertly cut outerwear, inspired by practical fisherman’s coats, are a fashion editor favourite. Sure to be another hit is the label’s newly launched bag range - a series of roomy puffed up styles, inspired by the snuggly silhouette of pillows, and available in oil-coated cotton canvas, velvet and rubber. The pieces come in two spacious options, essential for on-the-go living, and have a versatile handle lengths, allowing you to sling the styles over your shoulder. What’s more, the accssories have an environmentally-friendly élan, having been crafted using production offcuts. Puff pieces with real staying power.

Writer: Laura Hawkins

First row
3 October

Stroll along the gently curving pavement that lines Carlos Place in Mayfair and you’ll be struck by Jai Signh’s Sky, the glowing egg-shape James Turrell artwork which illuminates the entrance to The Row’s first bricks and mortar boutique in London, England. Once enchanted into its ground floor, you’ll be captivated not just by the sleek rails of pared-back luxurious pieces, from double-breasted twill blazers to funnel neck silk organza dresses, but the expertly curated range of artworks and furniture that populate the two floor space. Co-founders and creative directors, Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen, collaborated with architect Annabelle Selldorf on the tranquil, gallery-like space, which has a newly installed Arts and Crafts-inspired wooden staircase connecting the double levels. Look out for John Chamberlain’s crushed chrome steel Funn, a cheeky Isamu Noguchi metal squirrel, and furniture by Charlotte Perriand, Corbusier and Pierre Paulin as you explore the space, where you’ll also find vitrines of archive Bulgari jewellery, contemporary designs by Brazilian jeweler Ana Khouri and colourful lighters by ST Dupont, amongst menswear, womenswear, accessories and exclusive one off pieces. If only The Row curated real life too.

Writer: Laura Hawkins. Image courtesy of The Row, John Chamberlain, Funn, 1978
2019 Fairweather & Fairweather LTD / Artists, Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Birthday time!
2 October

Stenströms knows a thing or two about shirting, just look to the brand’s 1899 shirt which celebrates the tailoring prowess of its founder August Stenström and marks the year he turned his tailoring shop into a modern shirt factory. Now, the Swedish label has taken a step further in paying homage to this milestone date, with a 120th anniversary-commemorating collection of men’s shirt’s, women’s blouses and children’s garments imagined only in white. These pared-back pieces are constructed in silk chiffon, silk twill and cotton jacquard, and we recommend you make a speedy investment to celebrate not only Stenströms anniversary in style, but all of your personal accolades too.

Writer: Laura Hawkins

Bourgeois buckle
1 October

There was a Right Bank sensibility on the A/W 2019 Paris catwalks, with brands bolstering a bourgeois sensibility, with gold button jackets in tweeds and glittering bouclé, A-line skirts and chic knee-high boots. For an instant chic wardrobe update, we recommend Celine’s buckled Folco Bag, which has a bourgeois canvas print, which suits not just the maison’s contemporary customers but its hôtel particulier-living ladies from the Sixties and Seventies. We suggest you sport it on your next shopping trip down the Rue de Rivoli, with a pair of aviators and swishing culottes.

Photography: Aylin Bayhan. Writer: Laura Hawkins