Objects of Desire

Design Panelled clear-sole sneakers, A-COLD-WALL*

Pioneering a different kind of sustainability, A-COLD-WALL*’s sneakers are designed to embrace the ageing process. ‘I want to encourage users to put the shoe through wears,’ brand founder Samuel Ross explains. ‘For me there should be a dialogue between you and the piece that you purchase, and I’m into the idea of speeding up the layer of humanity you find in a product. There’s the idea of a life cycle contained within the shoe.’ Suede-panelled and made with a tonal blue, cracked effect leather, these are sneakers your feet will gladly grow into.

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Design Bernard Buffet x Nike Dunk Low SB Paris (2002)

Art and sole. Among the rarest and most expensive shoes in the world, the Nike Dunk Low SB Paris sneakers were released in posthumous collaboration with French painter Bernard Buffet. This limited-edition model was specially made for Nike’s ‘White Dunk’ travelling art exhibition in 2002, in which artists were challenged to use shoes as canvases. Adorned with Buffet’s graphic Expressionist artwork, the model – of which only 150-200 were released – is now a collectible work of art in its own right, fetching up to £40,000 at auction. We’ll have to jog on (in other sneakers).

Design Air Jordan 36 x Nike

The latest design to set the sneaker world into a frenzy, the 2021 model in Michael Jordan’s iconic signature line, Air Jordan 36, has been revealed. Prior to officially announcing the shoe, the Jumpman family allowed Celtics’ All-Star Jayson Tatum to debut the kicks in-game for Game 2 of the NBA Playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets. Due for release later this year the model combines sunset shades of orange and purple with a design of usual athletic prowess. Released annually since the 1980s, the Air Jordans are an example of the cultural identity and importance that sneakers have gained over the last few decades. Ours is on pre-order.

Design Stan Smith Mylo x Adidas

The nature of sneakers. As part of Adidas’ pledge to reduce plastic waste, the brand recently launched its first-ever shoe made from mushroom leather. This new vegan sneaker is made using Mylo, a fungi-derived material developed by biotechnology company Bolt Threads. The material can be grown in less than two weeks in a lab-controlled environment and has a texture similar to cowhide. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary since the launch of the iconic Adidas collaboration, this new development promises a revolutionary approach to the making of sneakers in the future. We stan.

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Design illy Art Collection x Ai Weiwei

The art of morning coffee. From Louise Bourgeois to Marina Abramović, illy have collaborated with a range of high-profile contemporary artists over the years – and this latest launch sees the art of Ai Weiwei adorn their famous coffee sets. The collection is inspired by Ai’s ‘Coloured Vases’ exhibition in 2006, in which he submerged Neolithic vases into industrial paint tins – bringing new perspectives to traditional objects. ‘I think it is very important to give power to art and design while drinking good coffee, because it affects everybody’s life. We should enjoy it,’ says Ai. Amen to that – ours is a latte.

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Jewellery Niki de Saint Phalle, Assemblage Necklace 1974/2015, Louisa Guinness Gallery

Celebrated as one of the few female monumental sculptors, Niki de Saint Phalle also brought her distinguished hand to smaller artforms – such as this eye-catching necklace. A self-taught and versatile artist, her creations – often noted for their simplicity, directness and naïve style – engaged freely with a range of artistic influences, from pop to cubism. Her jewellery required skilled craftsmen and could take months to perfect, resulting in exquisite and unique designs. An example is this ‘Assemblage Necklace’, exhibited and on sale with Louisa Guinness Gallery, which continues to champion Saint Phalle’s pioneering contribution to the fields of art and jewellery.

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Fashion Max Bill Geelong Blanket x Hauser & Wirth

Art to cosy up with. The Geelong Blanket by Max Bill is part of Hauser & Wirth’s Artist Blanket series: an annual collaboration between the gallery’s artists and ROAM, a small studio based at the heart of the Scottish cashmere and fine woollens industry. As a student of the Bauhaus where he was taught by the likes of Josef Albers and Wassily Kandinsky, Bill pioneered a new visual language of geometric abstraction that would define the conventions of twentieth-century Swiss design. For decades since, Bill’s creations have lit up the world – now they’re warming us up too.

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Jewellery ‘Bitten’ Biscuit Pendant, Gavin Turk x True Rocks

Art meets jewellery – via the humble rich tea. Gavin Turk’s famous biscuit first premiered as limited-edition artworks at the 2006 Art Car Boot Fair, after the artist bit, signed and framed an original rich tea. Echoing the Duchampian ‘readymade’, it was intended as a celebration of the cultural history of Britain and its quintessential obsession with tea-drinking. Eight years later, the now-iconic work provided the inspiration for this collaboration with jewellery brand True Rocks – which reimagines the ‘bitten’ biscuit in gold, silver or bronze pendant form. For art- and tea-lovers alike, this is one to wear with pride.

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Design Fireside Chair Togo, Michel Ducaroy

A staple lounger for over four decades, Michel Ducaroy’s Fireside Chair Togo is reigning proof that comfort and style are timeless. Giving the phrase ‘sit back and relax’ a whole new meaning, the chair was first designed by Ligne Roset back in 1973 and has ever since endured as a mid-century classic. Complete with pleated fabric and made from foam of three different densities, the chair is versatile in design and can be used alone or paired with multiple pieces (for the full body experience). The perfect way to envelop after a long week, there’s no place like Togo.

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