PAD London is an optimistic example of human achievement

While Frieze may grab headlines in London in the second week of October, PAD’s simultaneous arrival in Berkeley Square regularly captures the hearts of art and design lovers in the capital. Last week the French collectible design fair was in London for the 16th time. A remarkable 62 galleries were neatly housed in the tents. Of these, 12 galleries were in attendance for the first time, suggesting that PAD’s appeal as a brand and business driver is as strong as ever, and when Wallpaper* visited earlier this week there was no buzz around the stands after a visit from less than David Beckham big excitement.

Here’s what happened at PAD London

(Image credit: Gabriele Abruzzese)

The appeal of PAD goes beyond celebrity tracking. The bar for presenting stands as rich interior worlds has been set extremely high over 16 years. Far from feeling like walking through a temporary tent structure, visiting the PAD is more like strolling through a series of exquisite sets, each revealing rooms that could have come straight from the homes of a troupe of exuberant collectors. In large quantities, the experience borders on the surreal. Here are real-life works we know from magazine pages and museum collections, with mighty London plane trunks interspersed. PAD smells of leaf mulch, furniture polish and a mixture of subtle scents – a strangely seductive scent combination.

(Image credit: Gabriele Abruzzese)

Let’s go over some highlights and start with the latest additions. Billing itself as India’s first collectible design gallery, Aequo (Mumbai) showcased a beguiling collection of works by international designers including Kelly Wearstler, Boris Brucher and Florence Louisy and, most intriguingly, Linde Freya Tan Gelder of Destroyers/Builders’s Plates Collection consisting of a coffee table, a wall mirror and a wall lamp, made using the metal repoussé technique.

(Image credit: Courtesy of Brazil Modernist and PAD London)

Brazil Modernist (Paris) lived up to its name, celebrating Brazilian modernist and contemporary design with standout pieces by Oscar Niemeyer, José Zanine Caldas, Joaquim Tenreiro, as well as contemporary works by younger stars. Highlights include Tiago Braga’s wool felt and metal lighting and Juliana Vasconcellos’ wonderful chairs made from solid Freijo wood and jute.

(Image credit: Courtesy of Movimento Gallery)

Movimento Gallery (Milan, London) showed a collection of new commissions from their stable of designers entitled Sign of existenceeach piece made of Travertino Ascolano. Theorem Editions (Paris), founded by David Giroire and Jérôme Bazzocchi, presented a selection of sculptural and minimalist furniture, including the system modular wool and alpaca sofas from Pool Studio.

(Image credit: Courtesy of Rob Crawford for Gallery FUMI)

In addition to the good performance of the newcomers, the PAD stars also showed a strong performance and showed their best. Gallery FUMI (London) unveiled a monumental oak and brass wall cabinet by Francesco Perini, part of his new Nucleo Series in which metal is inlaid into seasoned Tuscan oak. We were equally taken by the mythological carvings by Casey McCafferty and a mohair and leather chaise longue by their recent signee Charlotte Kingsnorth.

(Image credit: Michal Brzezinski)

Galerie Kreo (Pairs) presented a handsome and sophisticated wooden desk by Barber & Osgerby – the perfect complement to Jaime Hayon’s playful sass Happy monkey Mirror. Spazio Nobile (Brussels) newly offered Brushed Lamps by Pierre Charrié, made with Vietnamese painters, which are at the top of our wish list, next to Nilufar Gallery (Milan) copper chairs by Shlomo Harush.

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(Image credit: Stephane Aboudaram)

Stepping out of PAD into the October dusk of Mayfair is like being woken early from a blissful dream. To be surrounded by such an abundance of beauty, imagination, detail and effort, as demonstrated by the craftsmanship of collectible design, is to be reminded of the sheer creative power and poetry of humanity. Just spending two hours drinking it all in has a strangely uplifting effect, not just on the eyes and heart, but on the soul. These are peaks of human physical expression. AI could never come close to that.