HTSI editor, Jo Ellison
HTSI editor, Jo Ellison © Marili Andre

’Tis the week before Christmas, and in this, our last issue of the year, we take an opportunity to look back at some of the highlights of 2021 as well as capturing the energy to take us into 2022. A year that has found us in many different situations ends on a cautiously optimistic note. As I write, we are being introduced to yet another coronavirus variant, vaccinations are being sharpened, and the prospect of a new wave of infections is playing havoc with global travel plans. Yet if some limits on our freedoms are now inevitable, we can at least take comfort from the progress we’ve made in 2021. Most of us have been able to spend time with our families, and we’ve had ample opportunities to meet up and celebrate with friends. Most restaurants, venues and arts galleries are now partially open, and the creative pulse has quickened once again.

Soho House CEO Nick Jones in Rome
Soho House CEO Nick Jones in Rome © Lea Anouchinsky

You may have been among the many who visited the Tate retrospective of Paula Rego over the summer, or who have been to the Victoria Miro gallery this autumn to see another selection of her works. With her dark, folkloric characterisation and wicked sense of mischief, the Portuguese-born artist, now in her 80s, has long captured the imagination – but this year, her phantasmagorical depictions have seemed particularly apt. One of our most esteemed painters, Rego is celebrated next month with the publication of a new book. In it, she answers questions from other female artists, including Marlene Dumas, Kudzanai-Violet Hwami and Chantal Joffe. Seizing on the opportunity, we’ve also thrown in some questions of our own. The resulting piece is accompanied by a series of extraordinary pictures by Gautier Deblonde that offer an insight into the artist’s studio, and a glimpse into her world.

Nick Jones is also keeping busy: the founder and CEO of Soho House has been rolling out new members’ clubs throughout the world. Vassi Chamberlain caught up with him on the opening of a new Roman outpost, an ambitious foray in a city boasting some of the most discerning and unimpressible inhabitants on earth. No wonder we found him agitating over the crema on the coffees and making sure that his Italian bona fides were sure to make the grade.

The late Virgil Abloh, shot for HTSI in 2020
The late Virgil Abloh, shot for HTSI in 2020 © Jonathan Frantini

This year marks moments of great loss also. Only hours after publishing an interview with Virgil Abloh (in our 27 November issue), it was announced that the fashion designer, architect, DJ, engineer and collaborative master had died. Abloh had been fighting a rare form of cancer since 2019, a fact that he kept private. In the flow of tributes that have followed, Abloh’s enthusiasm, energy and appetite for new projects have been cited frequently. On the occasions that we interviewed him for HTSI, he demonstrated a huge breadth of interest in everything, from lesser-known architectural heroes to car engineering, music, furniture – and very occasionally clothes. Abloh was always clear that he was designing for the upcoming generation, and that he was making luxury more accessible for a client who looked and felt as he did, too. He was a prolific sender of supportive emojis, a professional turner-upper, and someone who always extended opportunities to others. His passing leaves a giant absence, but one can only hope the lessons that he taught us – how to spend it wisely, kindly and encouragingly – will stick around for good. 

@jellison22

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