Wallpaper February 2026

CONTRIBUTORSLÉA TEUSCHER

SÉBASTIEN GIRAUD Photographer The Paris-based Giraud describes his work as ‘paying attention to shapes, details and the way the light falls’. For our first collaboration, we tasked him with our fashion celebration (page 146). ‘We quickly settled into a quiet rhythm, keeping enough distance without tension,’ he says. ‘Looks and their structure speak for themselves. It was inspiring working on a restrained presence, following a minimal approach. Everything was natural, nothing was forced.’ ADRIAN MADLENER Writer With an interest in craft, experimentation and sustainability, Madlener is driven to discover new hotbeds of creative activity, especially those that have long been under the radar. This month, he explores our City of the Year (page 116). ‘Getting to know Detroit’s ever-evolving design scene over the past few years, I’ve enjoyed uncovering its.

EDITOR’S LETTERBill Prince

WINNING HANDS Call it confirmation bias if you will, but as we were sending our annual Design Awards issue off to press, it felt as if the news cycle was mirroring our fascination with the way in which we absorb the world around us through the ideas and objects we create. In quick succession came word that Pantone had kicked up some political dust by prescribing white as its Colour of the Year. Next, the Trump administration ordered the replacement of the Calibri typeface on all state department correspondence with Times New Roman in a blow to ocularly challenged screen-readers in particular and fans of sans serifs in general. Finally, a hippo-shaped home bar by French sculptor François-Xavier Lalanne broke the global record for a work of design when it…

DESIGN AWARDS

Welcome to our annual embrace of the clever, the crafty and the creative

ROSA BERTOLIHANNAH SILVERJACK MOSSMARY CLEARYNEIL GODWINCINDY PARTHONNAUD

BEST PAWS A teddy bear collaboration plays on our heartstrings When we heard that Raf Simons was collaborating with Kvadrat and Steiff on a teddy bear, we were all ears. The result did not disappoint, with the object combining the classically rigorous manufacturing skills of the German toy maker with the imaginative fabrics that Simons has been creating with the Danish textile brand since 2014. For this particular collaboration, Simons chose his ‘Asator’ fabric in Desert Sand, a 100 per cent cotton short pile velour that feels 100 per cent fit for purpose. The sleek fabric adds a discreet whimsicality to the traditional Steiff bear structure, and a Kvadrat/Raf Simons logo is emblazoned on a paw. The teddy forms part of a Simons and Kvadrat collection specifically aimed at children..

BEST TAKEDOWN

Substack newsletter For Scale, by David Michon

HUGO MACDONALD

There must be something in the water of Winnipeg. David Michon grew up in Canada’s sixth-largest city, as did Wallpaper’s founding father Tyler Brûlé. Thirty years after Wallpaper* launched, quickly coalescing into a modern design tribe, Michon has emerged as an authority for today’s furniture flock with For Scale, his compulsive, subversive décor-concerned Substack. For Scale is quite unlike any formal form of design publishing at the moment.

BEST RETAIL THERAPY

Jake’s, London

JACK MOSSJOSHUA SNEADE