Clearly snobbery in its truest sense, i.e. to discriminate against, exclude or make anyone feel unimportant or insignificant based purely on social status is abhorrent and has no place in the modern world; but at the same time it’s important not to confuse “snobbery” and “discernment” and to inadvertently discriminate against those with a heightened aesthetic understanding.

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Between Covid-19 and Brexit, there are sure to be further calls for funding and educational cuts to the arts, meaning, more so than ever, creative enterprises will have to rely on individuals turning their passions into businesses with very little support — whatever the merits of a pair of $560,000 shoes.

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The luxury interiors sector, and its client base, need to be re-educated on the fact that the price of something reflects its value as a piece of artistry, and for that matter, to re-educate on the whole idea of “preciousness”, which is inextricably bound up with, and a bedfellow to “luxury”.

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Excluding actors, designers and architects, arguably, like to pat themselves on the back and celebrate their own achievements more than any other profession, with an endless stream of award ceremonies, dinners and openings — a little honest criticism would go some way to bursting the bubble and bringing certain individuals back down to earth with a bang.

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When one talks about “social responsibility” and making more “ethical” choices, one immediately thinks of environmental matters, and whist that is clearly part and parcel of the topic at hand, it also encompasses “awareness”, i.e. educating oneself when it comes to matters of design and making choices that benefit the wider design world.

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Fausto Melotti, who, to some extent, can be described as the quiet man of Italian sculpture, integrated and combined elements from multiple artistic contexts, as part of a lifelong attempt to create a total artwork “in which the human form is reduced to its most elemental components in accordance with Modernism’s search for the essential and irreducible”.

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In the years since her death in 2008, Grace Hartigan’s work has once again come to the fore, in part as a result of curators, scholars and collectors re-evaluating the canon of Western art and shining a light on those who may not have been given their rightful dues.

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Questions of whether post-colonial politics and capitalism have played a part in turning Jeanneret’s “Chandigarh” furniture into a luxury commodity have yet to be answered definitively; however, in a world where accepted “truths” are being unpicked and unravelled, it’s surely merits critical analysis.

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Nobody designs in a vacuum, there’s always historical precedent, and in part, it’s the role of great designers to reinvent and reinterpret references from different eras and epochs in a way that’s relevant to our time. Outwith the judicial process, the extent to which we police that is open to interpretation.

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To create interiors with atmosphere, one must possess an inherent sensibility for history, humanity and art — as well as an understanding of human psychology, and of the way in which people react to certain spaces, materials and environments; for many, they simply lack that level of observational sensibility and awareness for the hows and whys of societal behaviours.

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Following in the steps of great women designers, architects and artists like Charlotte Perriand, Eileen Gray, Lina Bo Bardi and Gabriella Crespi, there are now, thankfully, numerous female creatives who are making waves in the design industry, producing work that will, hopefully, inspire the next generation.

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It’s the duty of any good designer to make the most of a budget, to support artisans and craftsmen, and above all, to show a lay client exactly what possibilities are out there; who knows, were it not for Colette’s interest in the family business, Jean Dunand’s masterwork Les Palmier might never have been commissioned.

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Wabi-sabi is not a style, fad or fast-fashion trend, it is not defined by specific design details, colours or accents to invest in or disregard — it’s a way of life that’s about recognizing, accepting and embracing imperfectness; arguably, it consciously advocates simplicity and authenticity, something which in an increasingly fractured and uncertain world can, surely, only be a positive.

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By implementing a decorating scheme that is essentially a 1980s rehash, albeit it stripped of its frothier accoutrement, wear and tear will be judged deliberate, and any guests can easily be distracted from a Loaf sofa by a plethora of tulips, shoved haphazardly into any and every receptacle.

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For a certain wealth bracket, names like Royère, Perriand, Prouvé and Dunand trip off the tongue as easily as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Basquiat and Koons, yet, in the case of the former, they’re still far more affordable status symbols.

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Somewhat paradoxically, French style is often defined less by what it is than what it isn’t — which is precisely why it can be so hard to copy, or otherwise reproduce or emulate. Interestingly there are many parallels between the French attitude to personal style and their interiors, with many of the same rules applicable.

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With advances in graphics and technology, one has to wonder, at least in the digital realm, the point at which we will no longer able to distinguish reality and artifice; and so it’s quite possible that in the pages of Elle Decor, Wallpaper and World of Interiors we might start to see entirely virtual interiors.

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Celebrated and influential during his lifetime, Jean Arp’s dynamic, multifaceted oeuvre speaks of an artist at the epicentre of the twentieth century’s most important artistic movements, from Dada and Surrealism to Abstraction.

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One often hears the term “Art Deco” bandied about, with all of its associations with luxury, glamour, exuberance — as well as the Jazz age, Flappers and the roaring twenties — but what does it really mean?

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The world would be a far more interesting place if only we were to trust our own instincts and worry less about what the neighbours might think. That being said, equally, if not more so, those in the design industry have a responsibility to stop churning out identikit interiors, to produce original designs and to persuade clients that there might just be an option other than a Prouvé “Standard Chair” or an Eames lounger.

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