TOP DRAWER FURNITURE!

Design Miami/ describes itself as a global forum for design. It is a platform for both historically important and contemporary pieces. Last month, galleries from across the globe assembled for the design show's sister event in Basel to display their precious wares in the brand-new Herzog & de Meuron-designed halls of the Messe Basel

Jetting in to view what was on offer - which included Maison des Jours Meilleurs, a 1956 prefabricated house by Mr Jean Prouvé (restored, shipped and then assembled inside the fairgrounds by Galerie Patrick Seguin) that sold within minutes - were collectors, industry chiefs, designers, architects and enthusiasts. Notable attendees included Mr Leonardo DiCaprio, Mr Peter Brant, Ms Stephanie Seymour, Mr Roman Abramovich and Mr Kanye West. The latter, well known to be a fashion, architect and design buff, provided an impromptu "listening party" for his new album Yeezus, complete with chairs by Mr Rick Owens, whose limited-edition design work was shown by Salon 94. 

The galleries that make up the fair fall into two camps: those that deal in historical design - mainly 20th-century work from the likes of Messrs Prouvé, Jean Royère, Carlo Mollino, Alvar Aalto, Jean-Michel Frank, Mr Giò Ponti and Ms Eileen Gray - and those that "edit" works from contemporary talent and produce limited-edition collections usually comprising no more than 12 pieces. 

Design Miami/, which runs alongside the Art Basel fair, also provides satellite exhibitions, special commissions and exposure opportunities for young talent. It is peppered with talks, tours and openings in and around the city - and plenty of dinners and parties. This year's even included a fire station's 20th birthday celebration. Yes, a fire station, albeit one of the first completed buildings by architect Ms Zaha Hadid, just minutes over the border in Germany at Vitra Campus. 

Check the slides, below, to see eight designs that really caught our attention. 

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ARMCHAIRS!

You might think that, in design-evolution terms, the armchair has come just about as far as it can go. The fundamentals are there, right? Tell that to designers. The chair is where they can really prove themselves. If they come up with an iconic creation, they can enter the pantheon of design greats. 

Think of Mr Charles and Ms Ray Eames' lounger, which held pride of place in Frasier's apartment in the classic sitcom of the same name. (And not as the one that Marty sat on.) Or Mr Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona chair, still a signifier of urbane sophistication and design nous almost 85 years after its debut. The armchair will always remain a challenge that designers want to solve. There is still so much to play with: material, finish, ergonomics. There are new technologies to conjure with, new tools to use, new forms to devise. 

MR PORTER's top 10 is a mix of established classics and, because design never rests, a spattering of spanking-new models. The remarkable thing is how radically different each chair is, from Mr Konstantin Grcic's elegant marble composition in three parts to Mr Jean-Marie Massaud's saddlery-inspired perch for the modern power broker. Take a seat. 

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THE WAY I DRESS: MR JOHANNES HUEBL!

MR PORTER spent the day with Brooklyn-based photographer & model, Mr Johannes Huebl to see how he chooses what to wear. But, for a minute, forget about Mr Huebl and just focus on that turntable, that furniture, oh and that amazing Burberry Prorsum jacket (shop here!). 

His modelling career has seen him grace magazines and billboards around the world, but most know Mr Johannes Huebl as the long-term boyfriend of the beautiful Upper East Side celebutante and paparazzi favourite, Ms Olivia Palermo. As one half of New York's most fashionable power couple, Mr Huebl finds his style choices under scrutiny on an almost daily basis, so it's fortunate that his taste in clothes is classic, reliable and easily adaptable. "A suit is very easy to wear, because it's like a uniform," he says, emphasising the importance of fine tailoring above all else. In this short vid, the Brooklyn-based model, photographer and On The Town regular discusses his opinions on flip-flops, his secret history as a sneaker fanatic and the unlikely origins of his style. Click on the video, below, to hear more. 

MARIO TESTINO ROYALE: A LOOK INSIDE THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S L.A. HOME!

Channeling his Peruvian roots, the iconic lensman transformed a Los Angeles hacienda into a vibrant showcase for his aesthetic—and now captures the results with his own camera.

Mario Testino grew up in Lima, Peru, an endlessly intriguing city of brooding conquistador-era palaces and leafy suburbs surrounded by hills and lapped by the crashing Pacific. Here he disported himself with fellow gilded youths and partied in the grand, sequestered houses of the well-to-do. In these sprawling homes he absorbed the uniquely Peruvian approach to decor, reflective of the country’s layered history, with naïf seventeenth- and eighteenth-century portraits of los arcángeles peering down on roomscapes crowded with colonial silver plates, the huacos artifacts of the Incas, and a jostle of imposing dark Spanish-inspired furniture and sleek mid-century design statements.

More pictures and the rest of the article after the break! 

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THE NY FLAT: MR MICHAEL HAINEY!

US GQ's deputy editor Mr Michael Hainey  

THE ART OF FASHION: PROENZA SCHOULER!

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MR CHARLES EAMES, THE ARTIST!

When, during World War II, Mr Charles Eames moved to Los Angeles with his new wife Ms Ray Eames (neé Ms Ray Kaiser), the design duo embarked on a career that would define the look of an entire era. 

Their creative and romantic partnership was of unrivalled influence in the post-war period, thanks to the way they combined an engineer's take on modernism, a joyful sense of optimism and a deeply artistic sensibility. They may now be remembered chiefly as the designers of beautiful furniture, but the film suggests that their talents were far broader than their current legacy suggests.

Eames: The Architect and the Painter is released on 3 August!

SHOP THE STORY!

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THE LEGEND: JENS RISDOM

 Experience the wit and wisdom of the modern master, 

as he speaks with us about history, parachute straps, and, of course, chairs!

Enjoy!

BMW | 6 Series – Gran Coupe