It’s September and time for our particular sort of Style Special. We have compiled our favourite new architects of fashion; Smiljan Radić works his truly timeless magic on the new Alexander McQueen flagship on London’s Bond Street, BIG’s Bjarke Ingels triumphantly brings the Haussmannian atrium up-to-date at the new Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées, Roz Barr orchestrates the perfect studio space at Selfridges in London, Snøhetta gets extra textural for Holzweiler in Oslo, Hesselbrand works wonders with the rawest of materials at Alyx’s temporary showroom in Paris, and artist and designer Duccio Maria Gambi brings tough geometry to Tokyo for Plan C.

From retail to residence, Paule Ka founder Serge Cajfinger invites us into his Marcio Kogan-designed beach house in Brazil – Kogan was commissioned after Cajfinger saw his Paraty house in an issue of Wallpaper*.

We also take you through the key trends of the season, photographed in a London home designed by architects Spink, and Wallpaper’s Nick Compton looks at how to minimise your carbon footprint with the latest in eco-trainers. For something altogether quieter, we look at what we call the ‘sounds of silence’ – a new muted mood in fashion that is gaining momentum, bringing a certain calmness and functional elegance to an increasingly noisy world.

As for our four main fashion stories, we have botanical style with Brigitte Niedermair’s flowers- and seeds-inspired shoot; Dham Srifuengfung take us back to art school; Julien T Hamon visits Casa do Monte in Lisbon, designed by Leopold Banchini Architects (selected for our 2019 Architects’ Directory) with Daniel Zamarbide; and we celebrate the man of the house in a story photographed by Marili Andre.

Finally, Giorgio Armani serves up his impeccable risotto alla Milanese. Tuck in and enjoy the issue!

Sarah Douglas, Editor-in-Chief