The Essence of the 21st Century

(Image credit: press)

last updated 3 November 2022

For the past few months Wallpaper* and superior cognac house Courvoisier, have been working in tandem to determine the ten most important creative figures working in the world today.

In a nod to Courvoisier’s Napoleonic heritage – after Bonaparte himself bestowed ten signet rings to his top commanders – each of our figureheads have received a Baccarat decanter of L’Essence de Courvoisier, the recently launched grand cru cognac which has taken place as the jewel in Courvoisier's crown.

Our Panel of cross-disciplinary judges included Fashion designer Hussein Chalayan; Soho House entrepreneur Nick Jones; President of Lane Crawford, Jennifer Woo; Industrial designers Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd of PearsonLloyd; Wallpaper* Editor-at-Large Suzanne Trocmé and our very own Editor-in-Chief, Tony Chambers. We’ve listed their chosen winners below, so just click on their names to find out more.

Beijing-based architect Pei Zhu

Artist-cum-architect, Jason Bruges

British found object designer Stuart Haygarth

Japanese architectural studio, SANAA

Facebook entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg

London fashion darling, Gareth Pugh

Intuitive interior designer Tokujin Yoshioka

Chinese photographic artist Li Wei

Young British designer Christopher Kane

Swiss Photographer Joel Tettamanti

Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.