Talk Of The Fair

Stefano Tonchi, Editor-In-Chief, W Magazine Hosts This Year's Design Talks (Photo Credit: Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin)

Stefano Tonchi returns to moderate this year’s Design Talks between some of today’s most distinguished fashion and design luminaries. Cultured magazine’s Sarah Harrelson got a preview.

You interviewed David Adjaye in last year’s Design Talks. What are your thoughts on his receiving the prestigious Designer of the Year award?

As usual, W serves as a sort of weathervane, so we featured David very early on in the magazine. He’s the perfect candidate for the Designer of the Year award—not only is he a very talented architect, he’s a visionary. He’s worked for all the major art institutions and built many houses for artists and art collectors alike. In that sense, he’s a bit of an artist himself.

As you head into your second year as the moderator of the Design Talks series for Design Miami/ what are you most looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to meeting another interesting group of people and putting them in contact with one another so they can create partnerships and collaborate on future projects. No two minds think alike, so it’s inspiring to see how ideas are vetted and cultivated, and the potential for change.

Last year you combined major forces from the world of design, architecture and fashion. Why do you think it is important to push this dialogue?

Fashion, design and architecture—they all live in the same world, so they feed and influence one another as part of one continuous conversation. For example, fashion, like design, is as much about mass production as it is about art creation. Not only do they thrive in this world of art and commerce, they also relate to the human body.

What was a highlight for you in moderating last year’s Design Talks?

I really enjoyed the talk between John Pawson, Francisco Costa and Konstantin Grcic—who was last year’s recipient of the Designer of the Year Award.

What do you have planned for this year’s talks?

We’re excited to have the British architect, Norman Foster of Foster + Partners, who will not only be discussing his interests in architecture, but also design and fashion. We will also have architect Rafael de Cardenas, artist Teresita Fernandez and we’ll be welcoming back David Adjaye.

Who would your dream panel consist of? Living or dead and without any geography or scheduling restraints.

My dream panel would be with designer Coco Chanel, the French artist Marcel Duchamp and the German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

What do you find most inspiring about walking through the fair?

What I find most inspiring about Design Miami is how you are learning lessons from the past while discovering the future—it’s a unique experience.

This year marks the 10th year anniversary of Art Basel. In the years you have been attending how have you seen it evolve?

Art Basel has evolved in relation to the importance of art in contemporary pop culture. What started as an art fair has grown into an international festival with hundreds of events and happenings that brings together cultural enthusiasts from all over the world.

For the complete lineup, visit www.designmiami.com/design-talks.

This article by Sarah Harrelson was originally published in Cultured magazine’s December 2011 Design Miami/ issue. To view the magazine in its entirety, please visit www.cultureddigital.com .