Emilia Wickstead's Knoll Dining Chairs are a Midcentury

By Angela Wei

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What makes a purchase “worth it”? The answer is different for everybody, so we’re asking some of the coolest, most shopping-savvy people we know—from small-business owners to designers, artists, and actors—to tell us the story behind one of their most prized possessions.

As the head of her namesake womenswear label, Emilia Wickstead knows all about good design. Born in New Zealand, raised in Milan, and now based in London, the fashion designer draws inspiration from her multicultural upbringing for her ready-to-wear brand, which is known for its feminine silhouettes, strong colors, and exacting craftsmanship. The label also happens to be a go-to for the Duchess of Cambridge, who began stepping out in Emilia’s pastel-colored dresses and coats in the early 2010s.

The fashion designer’s London home is a reflection of her love for collecting, filled to the brim with unique finds and vintage gems. Fashion and interiors have also always been intertwined for Emilia, thanks to her mother, who passed on her own appreciation for design. With a background in interiors, Emilia’s mom taught her about special furniture items early on. “I think that [that] is very much integrated into how I collect or how I believe we should also collect pieces for our wardrobe,” she says.

Some of Emilia’s most beloved items in her collection are a set of Knoll dining chairs. Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for his Tugendhat House in Brno, Czech Republic, in 1930, the Brno chair has since become an icon of 20th-century design. The cantelever chairs are currently produced by Knoll and celebrated for their minimalist profile, clean lines, and meticulous attention to detail. “Interestingly, a lot of my aesthetic as a brand is very floral and very whimsical,” Emilia explains. “I would say with [my interior design], I love it subtly floral, but I love [my pieces] in a harder atmosphere, [a] more handsome sort of setting.”

“I designed our flat so that the dining room would be separate from any other room because I still love that element of traditional dining where it’s not all in one open space,” Emilia says of her dining space.

Though Emilia purchased the Brno chairs from Knoll for her London home four years ago, they had been on her wish list long before. “It was always like a lifetime achievement to own those chairs, they’re investment pieces that I will have forever,” she says. It also felt fitting for a more mature phase of her life. “My dining chairs prior to that, I bought at an antique market. They’ve now fallen apart and were like 50 euros each. So it’s really nice; these [Brno chairs] feel grown up.”

The Brno chairs are situated around a marble table from Knoll in her dining room. The designer had her set of Knoll dining chairs customized by the brand in a tan leather, similar to the model produced in the ’90s that she had been pining after. The unique color also helped tie elements of the warm-toned dining room together. “My walls obviously match the color of the chairs,” Emilia says about her mustard-tinted palette. The dining space is completed with a large portrait painting by Annette Isbey, swing arm lamps, and wooden floorboards.

Emilia had her sights set on these chairs for a while. “I had seen reference images from the ’90s, and I really wanted that color. Those chairs are also in my flagship store on Sloane Street.”

Much of Emilia’s taste in interior design is influenced by her upbringing. “I think in my younger years, when I lived in Milan, [were] such a jaw-dropping experience…a feast for the eyes. Even in the way that I’ve designed my home, it’s got a more handsome edge to it, it’s got this old-world Italian confidence.” When it came to picking pieces for her home, she was constantly drawn to vintage furniture designs from Knoll—specifically that the functionality of those pieces matched the handsome aesthetic of her home. “It’s quite old world, it’s very ’90s,” she adds.

Being both a businesswoman and a mother, it was also important for Emilia to curate a space that could combine entertainment and work. “[The Brno chairs] were used at the Four Seasons in New York during that golden age of New York when power lunch culture was created by van der Rohe,” she says. “I loved the idea that I was creating that at home in my dining room. It suits the tone of being able to work in that room but also being able to entertain.”