From significant business changes to noteworthy product launches, there’s always something new happening in the world of design. In this biweekly roundup, AD PRO has everything you need to know.
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In the News
Racist caricatures at Milan Design Week
This year’s edition of Milan Design Week unfolded as it normally does, in a rapturous series of showroom visits, Negroni-fueled parties, and eye-opening installations. Yet there was one disturbing appearance that fiercely threw the boisterous event off course. In Campo Base, a group exhibition curated by Federica Sala, architect Massimo Adario presented an array of appalling 1920s glass figurines that reinforce crude racist stereotypes of Black, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Indigenous people.
These offensive, out-of-touch caricatures were first called out publicly by Hello Human publicist Jenny Nguyen, designer Stephen Burks, and Wava Carpenter and Anna Carnick of Anava Projects in a collective Instagram post. “Such ‘decorative motifs’ have a long and shameful history in our field. It was shocking to see this history so casually evoked in a contemporary design project,” they wrote. Adario claims that harm was not his intent, which only cements the realization that the industry desperately needs to engage in widespread dialogue to illuminate why this show was so upsetting for so many and how something like it must never come to light again. [Editor’s note: For a deeper dive on antiracism in the interiors space, we recommend Sydney Gore’s article “Interior Race Theory Is a Creative Way to Decolonize Our Homes.”]
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Sotheby’s to present monthlong Freddie Mercury exhibition and auction series
When he wasn’t on stage donning a flamboyant costume, Queen’s Freddie Mercury was likely holed up in Garden Lodge, the Georgian-style brick villa in London’s Kensington neighborhood that he snagged in 1980. For the last three decades, Mercury’s longtime friend Mary Austin presided over the abode, which remained filled with the musician’s thoughtfully curated stash of Victorian paintings, glass objects, and Japanese fabrics. Some 1,500 of those items will now be displayed in Sotheby’s 16,000-square-foot London gallery (August 4 through September 5, what would have been Mercury’s 77th birthday) after highlights from the collection make their way to New York, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong throughout June.
Following the traveling exhibition, the pieces will be auctioned off in six separate sales in September. Along with treasures like Mercury’s red velvet and rhinestone crown and handwritten working lyrics to “We Are the Champions,” there is an assemblage of exuberant decor, including an early-20th-century enamel desk clock set with Fabergé gems, a 1980s Bakelite rotary phone, and an Art Nouveau glass lamp decked out with a tasseled shade designed by Mercury himself.
Louis Vuitton takes over a stylish LA abode
On April 12 in Los Angeles, Louis Vuitton opened the doors to Crafting Dreams, a complete immersion into all things LV. Transforming a private residence, the maison presented its beloved Objets Nomades, iconic hardsided trunks, fine jewelry and watches, baby goods, sporting wares—including an incredibly chic take on a ping-pong table—plus rare examples of Capucine and Keepall handbags. Visitors were also treated to an early look at Cabinet of Curiosities, Louis Vuitton’s newest collaboration with Marc Newson, which later saw its official debut at Salone del Mobile in Milan. In another area, red carpet diehards have their own special display to look forward to, with gowns worn by Ana de Armas, Gemma Chan, Jennifer Connelly, and others making an appearance. Cabinet of Curiosities is open through May 3, and can be visited by appointment only.
Dreweatts to sell private collection of Robert Kime
The late London designer Robert Kime, who dreamed up classy, comfortable interiors for the likes of King Charles III and Andrew Lloyd Webber, was also a passionate antiques dealer and collector. His vast trove of objects, accumulated over the years from sojourns in English country estates to the Middle East alike, is the focus of a forthcoming sale organized by the auction house Dreweatts. On October 4 and 5, the public is invited to bid on Kime’s tasteful array of furniture, rugs, textiles, ceramics, artworks, and books.
Design Happenings
Misha Kahn solo show opens in LA
Last weekend, Friedman Benda’s LA gallery unveiled Staged (through June 2), an exhibition showcasing New York artist Misha Kahn’s creatively divergent, mesmerizingly chaotic oeuvre. Among his maximalist works are the undulating Ammonoid Delta chair fashioned out of bright cotton velvet and bronze, the Hold the Line lamp featuring intertwined painted plastic curves, and Windswept, a round dining table melding glass gems and stainless steel that embodies Kahn’s predilection for fusing design and technology.
Toast ventures across the pond to the Hudson Valley
British lifestyle brand Toast makes its mark on the US this spring with Renew, a pop-up in Hudson, New York, located at 415 B Warren Street. In addition to perusing Toast clothing, accessories, and homewares between May 6 and May 29, guests can take in a group exhibition curated in collaboration with Kate Orne of the regional publication Upstate Diary. All the pieces, from local artists Sam Falls, Kat Howard, Kieran Kinsella, Kiva Motnyk, and Dana Sherwood, reimagine existing materials, dovetailing with a lineup of workshops dedicated to such crafts as kintsugi and patchwork quilting.
Openings
A spiffed-up Tiffany & Co. enlivens Fifth Avenue
Dubbed “The Landmark,” Tiffany & Co.’s iconic New York flagship at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street now exudes a rejuvenated elegance—and a rooftop addition—courtesy of AD100 Hall of Fame architect Peter Marino and OMA’s local office, led by partner Shohei Shigematsu. Past the façade flaunting the restored Atlas statue and clock is an abstracted ceiling installation reminiscent of a skylight, mirrors that morph into video walls projecting views of Central Park and the city’s skyline, and artworks from Julian Schnabel, Rashid Johnson, Anna Weyant, and Daniel Arsham sprinkled across 10 floors. There are several beautifully rendered odes to the past too, including wood parquet flooring that mimics the original 1940 version and a spiral staircase accented with rock crystals that calls to mind the organic forms of Elsa Peretti, who designed some of Tiffany’s most groundbreaking jewelry collections.
Product Launches
Mrs. Alice debuts Lake Como-inspired collection
Italy’s magical Lake Como, in particular the luxe resort Passalacqua, served as muse for Alice Naylor-Leyland’s latest Mrs. Alice designs. Revolving around vivid yellow, orange, and sky blue hues evocative of summer, the whimsical tableware range spans hand painted Melograno plates emblazoned with botanical motifs, turquoise embroidery-edged Fleur placemats that take the shape of an eight-petal bloom, and the Valentina tablecloth (named for the Passalacqua’s chic owner) covered in an intricate pink paisley print.
