Bill Prince, Editor-in-chief
'This week I was hosted by Van Cleef & Arpels for the launch of their latest high jewellery collection inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island at Vizcaya, an extraordinary, mock-Italianate villa on the outskirts of Miami. The work of early 20th century industrialist James Deering, the setting - on Biscayne Bay - and the architecture, faithfully reproducing the style of the Veneto region of northern Italy principally in reinforced concrete, served as the perfect backdrop to a lively evening of entertainment topped off with a hornpipe performed by an athletic troupe of brigands. Not your average high jewellery launch, then.'
Jack Moss, Fashion Features Editor
'Yesterday evening I celebrated the launch of JW Anderson’s somewhat unexpected collaboration with Guinness at a special dinner hosted by creative director Jonathan Anderson at The Devonshire in Soho. The reason for the location? The buzzy Denman Street pub is purportedly the best pint of Guinness in central London (though I’m sure there are plenty of claims to this title – I’m not getting involved). Comprising sweaters and T-shirts adorned with Guinness logos and historic branding, it was first revealed as part of the designer’s S/S 2025 menswear show in Milan this past June. ‘When I was younger, I was obsessed by the Guinness campaign, [the one with] the horses running,’ he said at the time. ‘Not to be cliché and Irish, but there’s something nice about the iconography of Guinness... It’s been the same forever.’ The four pieces are available now on jwanderson.com and the brand’s London store in Soho.'
Hannah Silver, Arts & Culture Editor
'This week I marked the opening of María Berrío's exhibition at Victoria Miro gallery with a special dinner at Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Luca. The art is surreal, the food, sublime - all in all, the perfect London night out.'
Nick Vinson, Contributing Editor
'I spent four days in Vienna, with Wallpaper* Alumni Matt Hranek and Hotel Sacher. We started with a private tour with Carl Auböck IV of the 400 objects on display at Iconic Auböck; A Workshop Shapes Austria’s Concept of Design at MAK Vienna. A visit to Lobmeyr included looking through original sketches by Joseph Hoffmann and Oswald Haerdtl from 1919 and 1925 respectively. That was followed by a dinner in their historic store put on by Hotel Sacher, who got out their special hand painted porcelain from Herend for the occasion, commissioned by Anna Sacher and last produced in 1959. After dinner a quick visit to the 1909 American Bar by Adolf Loos. Saturday we snuffled around the flea market, retuned to the MAK to see Adam Štěch's Elements exhibition, and the Biedermeier and Baroque rooms. Dinner was even more splendid than the night before; Hranek likes to dress up so I donned my Berluti black tie, sipped Ruinart from Hoffmann’s Patrician coupes from Lobmeyr (no stemware works better), ate Beef Wellington off another splendid service from Herend in The Sacher's Grüne Bar and went dancing at Eden, a club built in 1911 by architect Rudolf Erdös. Vienna at its very best.'
Jason Hughes, Creative Director
'Zen surrounding and modern Japanese cuisine at Yakumo Saryo in Tokyo. Owned by renowned designer Shinichiro Ogata, the restaurant is a former Japanese mansion that has been transformed into a dining retreat with tranquil garden view. '
Ellie Stathaki, Architecture & Environment Director
'Having had a sneak preview tour of the new home of Thames Distillers in South London before it opened, for our article, a couple of months ago, I was delighted to join COO George, his wife and Wallpaper* contributor Fiona, and architect Zoe there for a drink earlier this week. It was lovely to see the space alive with action and sample the company's delicious product.'
Hugo Macdonald, Global Design Director
'I’ve been in Milan this week, meeting the great and good of the local design brands. Even after two decades, visiting the HQs of these mighty manufacturers still takes your breath away; their legacies are so much more than furniture. This trip I was charmed by a photo of Giuseppina and Angelo Molteni (the founder of Molteni) on their wedding day in Giussano, 1941. Such cockle-warming happiness and humanity.'
Charlotte Gunn, Director of Digital Content
'On Monday night MJ Lenderman brought his brand of alt-Americana to London's Garage. Lenderman is a wonderful wordsmith. His second, album, Manning Fireworks – one of my favourite of the year – is packed with comic tales of tragic characters from his home in the American south ("Go rent a Ferrari, and sing the blues / Believe that Clapton was the second coming") but there was a sombreness to his performance on Monday. Lenderman's hometown of Asheville was recently hit by a devastating hurricane and he took a break from the 'hits' (see Wristwatch, above) to play an eight-minute charity track, released to raise money for Asheville's residents, and remind us they've been 53 days without water. His delivery is deadpan, he's flanked with a band who look like they'd be better placed in a hair-metal tribute act but, in my opinion, he's singlehandedly making male guitar music interesting again.'
Kris Bergfeldt, social media manager
'I recently visited The Mercer Hotel in New York to see its newly renovated rooms and attend Japanese contemporary artist Yaman Nkymn’s exhibition (Atomi:) WHITE2BLACK ∈ division.
On arrival, I was greeted with big smiles in the hotel's elegant lobby and guest library. The new rooms were minimalist but cosy, with an air of sophistication about them. For the exhibition, they transformed one such space into a traditional Japanese living room, complete with three vintage TVs on the coffee table and stacks of classic Japanese anime VHS tapes. Despite being in the heart of SoHo with the terrace doors wide open, a sense of calm prevailed.
The exhibition itself was fascinating. I learned about Shinto philosophy—a belief that everything in the world possesses a spiritual essence—while exploring the artist’s comparison of the Japanese tea ceremony with anime, separated by 450 years. Rare and valuable items, some dating as far back as 16th-century Japan, were also on display. All in all, a memorable experience.'
