HTSI editor’s letter: how to spend your salad days

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Having waited what seemed an eternity for some sunshine, in the past few weeks we have been rewarded with some gloriously long, hot days. With it, activities have inevitably shifted to the garden. Although I’ve yet to employ the TikTok hack of protecting my laptop from overheating by placing it inside a cardboard box, I’ve been out there eating, sitting, reading and occasionally pottering as I try to soak up every ray.

In Italy, our hosts give us a glimpse into two dining cultures

For this issue, we have revisited our theme of How to Host It, asking style leaders how they like to entertain when things get hot. Rosh Mahtani of jewellery label Alighieri hosts a summer feast of Indian food prepared by herself and her mother, while the Tata Naka twins Tamara and Natasha Surguladze, originally from Georgia, put on a barbecue. In Italy, our hosts give us a glimpse into two dining cultures – one in Rome, the other in Milan. JJ Martin, founder of the razzy homeware and clothing label La DoubleJ, explains how, as an American arriving in Milan 20 years ago, she has had to become accustomed to the insouciant attitude the Milanese take to making plans. In Rome, the founders of Giuliva Heritage, Margherita Cardelli Cavaliere and Gerardo Cavaliere, make their meals a family affair: they go big on combustible conversation, delicious clothes and local produce. I only wish that I was there.

Elsewhere, we look at new trends in global luxury. In China, the rise of xin zhong shi has seen creatives re-examine and reinterpret the traditional crafts and codes that are unique to Chinese design. Part of a patriotic wave resulting from cooling US-Chinese relations, xin zhong shi is also a corollary of the maturing local market, as consumers become more invested in locally made things. Zoe Suen speaks to the designers and artists who have propelled the trend. 

Likewise, in Africa, a growing number of designers (both within the continent and second-generation communities in the diaspora) are looking at local fabrics, techniques and manufacturing to create a new expression of “African” style. Obviously, as with China, the region is so diverse and geographically enormous that it is difficult to label anything with such a broad generic term. But, as Liam Freeman finds in “We Are in Control Now”, new dialogues between creators and artisanal producers (not to mention visits from big houses such as Chanel, which staged a show in Dakar last December) have helped shine a light on dozens of indigenous design practices and put them on a global stage.

Lastly, it behoves me to introduce The Best Fridge in the World. Or at least the fridge gunning for that title in terms of freshness, chilling capabilities and size. Rhodri Marsden meets the Sub-Zero & Wolf French Door Refrigerator + Freezer in this week’s Technopolis, and let me tell you, its faculties are fierce – strawberries will keep for up to four weeks, and a halved avocado will retain its greenness for many days. All that, and apparently no fridge stink. Take me to this sarcophagus of chill. 

@jellison22