Wallpaper* July 2024: the Design Directory

Dear readers,

They came, they saw, they conferred, and, by common consent, this year’s Milan Design Week – the global gathering of design-led industries hosted each April – was one of the liveliest ever, with a reputed 1,300 events taking place across the city in the space of a scant seven days. And you can call us biased (spoiler alert: we’re not), but one of the week’s standout moments was the return of Wallpaper* as both participant and exhibitor, hosting a showcase of young designers whose path to the global stage we were able to facilitate, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Wallpaper* team, led by Rosa Bertoli and Olly Mason, with the support of the American Hardwood Export Council and grown-diamond specialist SNOW.

You can see the fruits of those labours in the July issue, where you’ll find a visual testament to the sheer breadth of creativity we were able to bring to the Triennale in Milan: a small slice – granted – but an important one nonetheless. For, while we are all allies in the sort of community-building at which the Design Week excels, exposure remains crucial to young artists embarking on their careers, a journey in which Wallpaper* – as the global forum for such endeavours – is delighted to assist.

But as befits our annual Design Directory, we haven’t stopped there. We have collated the highlights from Salone del Mobile and beyond, encompassing the best in furniture, lighting, kitchens, bathrooms and a tidy number of just-so solutions to our nagging desire to elevate our surroundings, whether that’s a Visionnaire swing, a re-edition of Mario Bellini’s 1972 ‘Le Mura’ sofa by Tacchini x Gucci, or a ceramic vessel by Brooklyn-based creator Devin Wilde, whose own surroundings suggest something close to the life well lived.

Elsewhere, we pay our respects to France as it plays host to this year’s Summer Olympics by visiting the new Paris headquarters of LVMH Métiers d’Art; check out the freshly expanded Fondation Maeght, the private art institution sat high above the hilltop village of Saint-Paul de Vence; and sneak a peek at the Grand Paris Express, a new transport system allowing commuters to cross the city without passing through the centre, due for completion in 2030.

From the future to the past, to the always-on present, I trust you’ll enjoy the issue. 

Bill Prince
Editor-in-Chief