Maap wall lamp by Flos from ECC

The standout lighting designs that do far more than illuminate

Lighting has moved well beyond its supporting role and now operates as  one of the most decisive elements in  how a space is read, shaping atmosphere with the same authority as architecture, while quietly dictating how everything else is experienced.

Glossy burgundy mushroom lamp on dark side table beside a blue sculpted headboard and white bedding.
Bell Portable light by Tom Dixon from ECC

This was evident in the approach taken by Tom Dixon, who chose to inhabit Mua Mua, a 12-room micro hotel within the historic Mulino Estate originally designed in 1929 by Chiodi and Gio Ponti, using it not simply as a backdrop but as a fully realised environment in which his collections could exist as part of daily life rather than isolated in a display. Each room revealed a different layer of the collection, where Flare pendants in borosilicate glass introduced a soft, diffused glow against reflective metallic finishes, while Whirl Copper brought a sense of movement through its spiralling geometry, and the Bell Portable, finished in high-gloss burgundy, demonstrated a more refined control of light through improved dimming and adjustable temperature, all of which contributed to a setting that felt lived in rather than staged.

Stylos table lamp by VeniceM, available locally from Dawson & Co.

Within the Durini Design District, VeniceM approached lighting from a more material perspective, presenting “Unseen Stylos” as a study in form and composition, where cylindrical diffusers in satin antique blown glass, rendered in white, caramel, and soft pink, are combined with turned metal inserts to create a sequence that unfolds gradually across ceiling, wall, and floor applications. The effect is less about singular objects and more about continuity, with light diffused in a way that feels considered and quietly atmospheric, grounded in the traditions of Murano craftsmanship while pushing toward something more contemporary.

Two large glowing crumpled translucent wall sculptures illuminate a white gallery room.
Maap wall lamp by Flos from ECC

A more tactile and experimental direction emerged through Flos, which presented its collaboration with Erwan Bouroullec in the form of the Maap wall lamp, a sculptural, mouldable piece that invites direct interaction, allowing the form to be shaped by hand rather than fixed in place. The surface responds to touch, bending and shifting to create a light that feels less like a static object and more like a material intervention, reinforcing the idea that lighting can be as responsive and expressive as the environments it inhabits.

Design

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left to right: Katherine Throne Crowning Glory 2026 Oil on canvas 900 x 900 mm, Katherine Throne Labour Pay 2026 Oil on canvas 900 x 900 mm

Labour of love: Katherine Throne’s botanical paintings arrive at Sanderson

As winter settles across much of the country, Sanderson’s latest exhibition offers a timely reminder of the restorative power of nature. Opening this week, Labour of Love presents a new body of work by Wanaka-based painter Katherine Throne, whose richly textured canvases draw directly from the flourishing garden that surrounds her Otago studio.

Bursting with colour, movement and painterly energy, the exhibition explores the relationship between cultivation and creation, with Throne finding equal inspiration in the hours spent tending her garden as she does in the time spent at her easel. The resulting works feel deeply personal, reflecting a practice shaped by patience, persistence and an enduring fascination with the natural world.

Central to the exhibition is the concept of biophilia, a theory that suggests humans possess an innate desire to connect with nature. For Throne, that connection is evident in every brushstroke. Whether capturing abundant still-life arrangements or intimate glimpses of blooms gathered from her picking garden, the artist translates the rhythms of the seasons into compositions that feel both immediate and immersive.

What distinguishes these works is their remarkable physicality. Thick passages of oil paint sit alongside flatter, more delicate marks, creating surfaces that are almost sculptural in quality. Colour is applied generously, texture becomes part of the subject itself, and each canvas retains a vivid sense of the artist’s hand, lending the collection a vitality that mirrors the unruly beauty of the garden from which it emerged.

Running from 24th June until 19th July, Labour of Love is a celebration of observation, effort and the quiet rewards that come from nurturing something over time. At a moment when much of the garden lies dormant, Throne’s paintings offer a vibrant reminder that growth continues, even beneath the surface.

Exhibition dates: 24th July – 19th July

sanderson.co.nz

Culture

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Gucci’s transports us to Monte Carlo with a dreamy European summer escapade

Monte Carlo provides the backdrop for Gucci’s latest campaign, although backdrop feels too passive a description for a place whose influence has shaped the visual language of luxury for generations, where grand hotels overlook the Mediterranean, polished teak decks line the harbour, and an unmistakable sense of anticipation lingers in the air long after the yachts have departed the marina. Captured through a series of sunlit moments that move between pools, open water and the city’s celebrated coastline, the campaign follows Tian Xi Wei, Amelia Gray, Anok Yai, Elisabetta Dessy, Emma Koch, Kayako Higuchi, Felix Friedman, Ibrahima Kane and Samuel Watson as they navigate a season defined by movement, spontaneity and the pleasure of remaining open to possibility.

Rather than constructing a fixed narrative, Gucci embraces the appeal of uncertainty, allowing each image to suggest a destination yet to be reached, a reservation yet to be confirmed or an afternoon that unfolds according to instinct rather than schedule, creating a mood that feels entirely aligned with Monaco’s enduring reputation as one of fashion’s most captivating summer enclaves. The city has long attracted designers, photographers, actors and aristocrats who recognised its unique ability to balance refinement with ease, and that atmosphere remains central to the campaign’s appeal, infusing every frame with a sense of freedom that feels both contemporary and unmistakably glamorous.

The collection moves confidently through these changing settings, with womenswear balancing structured tailoring against fluid silhouettes animated by the House’s Flora motif, while menswear introduces relaxed separates and versatile denim designed for days that begin beside the water and continue well after sunset. There is a natural practicality to the wardrobe, although every piece remains grounded in the polished sophistication that has defined Gucci throughout its modern evolution.

Accessories assume a particularly important role within the campaign, accompanying their wearers through each chapter of the journey while reinforcing the collection’s emphasis on versatility and elegance. The Gucci Jackie, Venice and Gossip handbags appear as essential companions for summer travel, while the Mercato in white leather, alongside GG Monogram duffles and totes, reflects the enduring appeal of beautifully crafted luggage designed for both function and style. The Gucci Madison and Melrose shoulder bags continue that conversation, their compact proportions and signature monogram construction allowing them to transition effortlessly between daytime engagements and evening occasions.

At the heart of the campaign sits Flora, a motif whose significance extends far beyond decoration and whose story remains deeply connected to Monaco itself. This year marks sixty years since Vittorio Accornero created the original Flora design at the request of Rodolfo Gucci for Princess Grace of Monaco, producing a composition of extraordinary complexity that featured 37 colours arranged within a richly detailed botanical illustration first presented as a silk scarf. Few designs have maintained such enduring relevance across six decades, yet Flora continues to resonate because its artistry transcends seasonal trends, carrying with it a sense of beauty that remains as compelling today as it was upon its introduction.

That connection to Princess Grace lends particular resonance to a campaign set within Monaco, where her influence continues to shape the city’s cultural identity and where fashion remains intertwined with the glamour that has distinguished the principality throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Gucci’s decision to return to this setting feels especially considered at a moment when heritage carries greatest value when presented through a contemporary lens, allowing historical references to enrich the narrative without overwhelming it.

As the collection arrives online, in Gucci boutiques worldwide and across the House’s resort destinations in Forte dei Marmi, Porto Cervo, Capri, Ibiza, Mykonos, Formentera, Saint-Tropez and Cannes, the campaign captures a version of summer defined by curiosity, elegance and the promise of discovery, with Monaco providing the perfect stage for a story that remains perpetually in motion.

gucci.com

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Fashion designer Rebe Healy opens the doors to REBE, a permanent boutique
Mulleti

A taste of Rome has arrived in Ponsonby Central

Inspired by the neighbourhood bakeries of Rome, where locals gather throughout the day for pizza, baked pasta and aperitivo, Mulleti has opened in Ponsonby Central with a format that feels both refreshingly simple and deeply rooted in tradition.

For Enis, whose 14-year journey at Dante’s helped establish the venue as one of New Zealand’s most recognised pizzerias, the opening marks the latest chapter in a career dedicated to Italian food culture. Yet while Rome provided much of the inspiration for the concept, the heart of Mulleti lies much closer to home.

Enis Baçova and his mother

Carrying the subtitle Nonna’s Kitchen, Mulleti is a tribute to the Baçova family’s matriarch, whose warmth, generosity and love of cooking shaped both siblings long before hospitality became their profession. Together, Enis and Riljeta set out to create a place that captures the spirit of a traditional Roman forno while retaining the familiarity and comfort of a family kitchen, resulting in a venue that feels both distinctly Italian and deeply personal.

At the centre of the offering is pizza sold by weight, a traditional Roman approach that allows guests to choose exactly how much they would like before it is cut, weighed and served. The format encourages exploration, whether that means sampling several flavours in a single visit or sharing a selection among friends gathered around the table. Alongside the pizza sits a menu of pala romana sandwiches, supplì, frittatine, pasta al forno and classic Italian desserts, with combinations ranging from mortadella, burrata and pistachio to mushroom, stracchino and truffle, alongside rotating baked pasta dishes inspired by traditional Italian home cooking.

The space itself draws on the neighbourhood bakeries of Rome, where displays of pizza, fritti and baked pasta create an immediate sense of abundance and invite guests to discover something new. Warm, informal and intentionally uncomplicated, Mulleti has been designed to accommodate everything from a quick lunch or takeaway dinner to a lingering aperitivo before the evening begins.

That aperitivo culture sits at the core of the experience Enis hopes to share. A moment to pause, gather and enjoy good food in good company, it reflects the rituals that continue to define daily life across Italy and the values that inspired Mulleti from the beginning. Beneath the Roman influences and years spent refining his craft sits a simple ambition: to share a little of Nonna’s table with the wider neighbourhood.

mulleti.co.nz

Ponsonby Central
Ponsonby

Gastronomy

Trivet’s weekend feast serves seafood, lamb and Pacific favourites in generous style
The team behind Miso Ra and Pici’s co-founder have opened a new ramen bar in the CBD
Denizen’s definitive guide to the best Mexican in Auckland
Rebe and Harry Healy

Fashion designer Rebe Healy opens the doors to REBE, a permanent boutique

Campaign imagery — Holly Burgess
Showroom imagery — Hope Patterson

Fresh from announcing its continued international expansion, REBE has opened the doors to its first permanent showroom in Ponsonby, establishing a dedicated home for the New Zealand womenswear label as it enters an exciting new phase of growth.

Located at 12 Fitzroy Street, the new space serves as both a showroom and a studio, offering customers a more intimate connection to the brand while functioning as the creative and operational heart of the business. Designed to feel more personal than traditional retail, visitors are invited to explore the latest collections, meet the team and gain a glimpse into what is happening behind the scenes.

REBE Pre-Fall ’26 collection
REBE Pre-Fall ’26 collection

The opening coincides with the arrival of REBE’s new Pre-Fall ’26 collection, which reflects a continued evolution of the brand’s design language through stronger silhouettes, elevated fabrications and a growing confidence in its distinctive point of view. Structured outerwear, sculptural tops and elevated separates sit at the core of the collection, continuing the label’s focus on timeless pieces designed to endure beyond a single season.

The showroom also marks a new chapter for the business, with Harry Healy stepping into a formal leadership role overseeing strategy, operations and growth, while founder Rebe Healy continues to lead the brand’s creative direction. Alongside the opening, REBE has announced a partnership with Australian sales agency Catinella and confirmed plans to show in Paris from Resort 2027, signalling a significant step forward for the New Zealand label as it continues to expand its international footprint.

Opening hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 10am–5pm

rebe.co.nz

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Chef Wallace Mua

Trivet’s weekend feast serves seafood, lamb and Pacific favourites in generous style

For weekends when you want to gather friends or family without the rigmarole of hosting, cooking, and cleaning up, Trivet’s weekend lunches require very little effort for a large, indulgent reward. The restaurant, located within Auckland’s JW Marrit hotel, serves a Kai Moana Pasifika Buffet, a generous shared feast that celebrates the flavours of Aotearoa and the Pacific with abundance.

Served every Saturday and Sunday from 12.30 pm, the feast is designed as a long lunch rather than a quick grazing session, built around the kind of food best shared and returned to. The offering moves from a fresh seafood raw bar to umu-style meats, seafood favourites, Kiwiana classics and Pasifika-inspired dishes, bringing together familiar comfort and island generosity in a way that feels both relaxed and celebratory.

Among the highlights are Trevally Oka, Tiger Prawns, local steamed Mussels and traditional Palusami, alongside roasted lamb leg, kūmara, chop suey and dishes made for second helpings. To finish, a house-made dessert bar keeps the sense of occasion firmly intact, because restraint, on the weekend, has always been a suspicious virtue.

For families, it is particularly ideal. Children aged five and under dine for free, while those aged six to 12 receive 50 per cent off, making Trivet’s Kai Moana Pasifika weekends an easy answer for those looking to gather over food that feels generous in spirit as well as scale.

 At $95 per person, this is a weekend gathering that’s abundant, flavourful and designed for lingering longer. Book here.

trivetdining.co.nz

Gastronomy

A taste of Rome has arrived in Ponsonby Central
The team behind Miso Ra and Pici’s co-founder have opened a new ramen bar in the CBD
Denizen’s definitive guide to the best Mexican in Auckland

The team behind Miso Ra and Pici’s co-founder have opened a new ramen bar in the CBD

Auckland has welcomed a new addition in the form of Den Ramen Bar, a collaboration between the team behind much-loved food truck Miso Ra, Pici co-founder Kaz Suzuki, and events specialist Isabel Buckley.

Created in response to what the founders felt was missing from Auckland’s dining scene, Den takes its cues from the specialist eateries found throughout Japan, where restaurants often dedicate themselves to doing one thing exceptionally well. Here, the focus is ramen, supported by a concise menu of izakaya-style snacks and drinks.

The menu centres on four ramen offerings, including a Shoyu topped with chashu pork belly, egg and nori, and a rich vegan-friendly Miso Ramen made using miso crafted by Fraser, chef-owner of Lillius. Alongside the bowls, guests will find snacks such as braised Japanese radish with yuzu miso, raw tuna with umeboshi vinaigrette, and grilled gurnard finished with a soy-orange glaze.

Inside, low lighting, dark timber and handmade details create the intimate atmosphere the team envisioned, with much of the fit-out completed by the founders themselves. The result is a space that feels warm, welcoming and quietly transportive.

Whether stopping by for a quick bowl or settling in for drinks and snacks before ramen, Den offers the kind of understated experience that has long made neighbourhood ramen bars a fixture of Japanese dining culture.

Opening hours: 5pm till late, Thursday – Monday

denramen.co.nz

Gastronomy

A taste of Rome has arrived in Ponsonby Central
Trivet’s weekend feast serves seafood, lamb and Pacific favourites in generous style
Denizen’s definitive guide to the best Mexican in Auckland
Photo: Simon Devitt

The locally crafted pendant that solves a design dilemma with aesthetic brilliance

Designed by Todd Stevenson and handmade in Tāmaki Makaurau from solid brass, Powersurge’s Lateral Pendant resolves the question of what to hang above a long dining table or kitchen island as a single horizontal stroke of light. The thin rectangular light is customisable in lengths up to four metres. The dimmable LED light allows for practicality and restraint for those moments when the natural light is still the star of the show. As expertly executed in this New Plymouth Residence by Rowson Kitchens and KR Architecture, where it runs the length of the kitchen island and holds its own against a Tasman Sea sunset.

Lateral Pendant from Powersurge

powersuge.co.nz

Design

The standout lighting designs that do far more than illuminate
What lies beneath: The most significant design trend this year is where you’d least expect it
On a waterfront site in Sydney, Carter Williamson transforms a historic Victorian cottage into a residence as striking as its surrounds

Denizen’s definitive guide to the best Mexican in Auckland

Is there anything quite as satisfying as tucking into a flavourful, vibrant plate of Mexican ? Luckily, in Auckland there are certainly no shortage of tasty taquerias and casual cantinas to find your fix, from cheap and cheerful to more elevated takes, and a veritable spectrum in between. Here, we round up a (non-exhaustive) edit of some of the best in the game, perfect for indulging in when the craving strikes.

Gastronomy

A taste of Rome has arrived in Ponsonby Central
Trivet’s weekend feast serves seafood, lamb and Pacific favourites in generous style
The team behind Miso Ra and Pici’s co-founder have opened a new ramen bar in the CBD

Bar Ziti and Flush Golf are now serving breakfast, just in time for FIFA’s kick-off

For those setting alarms for FIFA Club World Cup kick-offs, squeezing in an early round on the simulator, or simply looking for a more interesting alternative to the usual morning coffee run, Bar Ziti and Flush Golf have introduced a new breakfast offering that makes a compelling case for starting the day a little earlier.

Available from 7am on weekdays and 9am on weekends, the menu leans towards the kind of generous, comfort-driven dishes that suit both sports fans settling in for a match and those easing into the morning at a slower pace. Ricotta Pancakes arrive topped with honeyed caramelised banana, the Big Breakfast comes loaded with eggs, bacon, lamb merguez and rosti, while Eggs Benedict swaps the traditional English muffin for a crisp potato rosti finished with paprika hollandaise.

Stack of golden pancakes with caramelised berries, banana, and whipped cream on a white plate.
Ricotta Pancakes
Person cutting into a poached egg on sourdough toast with a full café breakfast spread.
Flush Big Breakfast
Mushroom Bruschetta

The setting remains one of the city’s more entertaining places to spend a few hours. While Bar Ziti continues to deliver its familiar mix of good food and easy hospitality, Flush adds a playful dimension, allowing guests to move seamlessly from breakfast and coffee to a virtual round of golf without leaving their table-side conversations behind.

Breakfast Bap
Breakfast at Bar Ziti & Flush Golf

For one week only, there’s an added incentive. From June 15th until June 21st, diners can enjoy half-price Allpress coffee with breakfast or lunch when dining in, making those early FIFA kick-offs feel considerably more manageable.

Breakfast, football, coffee and a few holes before lunch. There are certainly worse ways to spend a winter morning.

savor.co.nz/bar-ziti

Gastronomy

A taste of Rome has arrived in Ponsonby Central
Trivet’s weekend feast serves seafood, lamb and Pacific favourites in generous style
The team behind Miso Ra and Pici’s co-founder have opened a new ramen bar in the CBD