THE CULT OF COLLECTING

From rare art to miniature car models, collecting has become a stylish obsession. Here, four enthusiasts share their passion

Dr QIN HUILAN 
DOCTOR TURNED MIU MIU MODEL

When 70-year-old retired doctor Qin Huilan walked the Miu Miu runway in Paris earlier this year, her Instagram following grew by thousands overnight. Those who hit the ‘follow’ button now bear witness to the daily posts of possibly the most stylish resident of Shanghai, China. What they’ll also appreciate is her long-standing affinity to Prada and Miu Miu and the vast archive she’s collected over the years. 

It all started when she borrowed Prada coats from her son’s wardrobe. ‘I worked in a hospital, wearing a white lab coat every day. But I love nice clothes and looking at magazines. I began wearing some of my son’s Prada clothes – a lot I wear on Instagram are actually his,’ she says. ‘I began to understand Prada and Miu Miu and to accumulate my own collection.’ Like any true fashion collector, she’s got her own favourite runway collections: Prada S/S ’10 and Miu Miu S/S ’13, of which she owns several pieces. ‘I’m obsessed with the craftsmanship. Their designs never go out of style. I can still wear clothes from a decade ago,’ she says.

GABRIELLA KAREFA-JOHNSON
STYLIST AND CONSULTANT

There are plenty of collections you’d expect to find in super-stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson’s New York apartment. Shelves of designer shoes and racks of jolting pops of colour are the obvious ones. But the American fashion editor has also amassed a notable collection of vintage Black magazines and Memorabilia. 

‘I have a really, really good issue of Jet magazine featuring Sidney Poitier. Legend has it that his character in Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner? was based on my grandfather, so naturally I’m obsessed with him,’ she says. ‘I got that one three years ago at BLK MKT Vintage. As soon as I moved to South Brooklyn, I found the shop, which is essentially a vintage store filled with Black ephemera – things like VHS tapes of Hangin’ With Mr Cooper. It’s like a time capsule.’ 

‘WHEN IT COMES TO AESTHETICS IN MY HOME, I ABSOLUTELY AM OBSESSIVE’

Once, Karefa-Johnson passed on a vintage Tina Turner book while travelling Europe, which is one of her great collector’s regrets. ‘I ended up googling Tina Turner magazine covers and found old images to start collecting instead of getting the big bound book. I very recently acquired an original copy of her first Rolling Stone cover and  I found it at a rare books collector somewhere in the middle of America. It was so cheap, so maybe one man’s trash really  is another man’s treasure.’ Does she have an obsessive character? ‘I know what I like and there are very few things that will stop me from getting there. When it comes to being obsessive about design and aesthetics and making sure that my point of view comes across in my home, I absolutely am. I think we all should be.’

JESSICA McCORMACK 
JEWELLERY DESIGNER

Entering one of Jessica McCormack’s stores is akin to stepping into an art gallery. ‘My father was an art dealer and auctioneer and I feel like I inherited my obsession from him. I can see a piece and immediately know the perfect home for it,’ she says.

There are paintings and sculptures at every turn, but does she have a favourite? ‘That’s like choosing between my children!’ she quips. ‘But, in all honesty, it changes all the time. There are a few pieces that feel really special and have been a part of the Townhouse [her Mayfair store] for years. We have some black-and-white photography by Sally Mann, which hangs upstairs, which I will always love. And a huge Laurie Simmons piece called The Love Doll/Day 36 (Geisha Tattoo), which is very special, and a bronze and steel sculpture by Louise Bougeois, which is a forever favourite.’ 

The collection is a shared effort between McCormack and her business partner Michael Rosenfeld and one of the recurring artists in the collection is the British painter Frank Bowling, known for his large-scale Map works. ‘When the Townhouse first opened, we had two wonderful Bowlings hanging – Serpentine and Benjamin’s Mess – they were so perfect for the space. Both then went on loan to Tate Britain for its Bowling retrospective in 2019, which was pretty cool.’ Some other artworks made it from her store straight into her own home, such as a piece by the French photographer Valérie Belin. ‘I’m always looking for newness, especially now that we have our Sloane Street store too. There’s so much wall space to play with and I have a long list of dream pieces.’ 

ERDEM  MORALIOGLU
FASHION DESIGNER 

Erdem Moralioglu’s house is home to many different characters. But at least 25 of them are part of the designer’s extensive bust collection. ‘I have been collecting them for around 12 years now,’ he tells Grazia. At one point, his husband, Philip Joseph, asked him to stop. But he didn’t. 

It all began with ‘a bronze bust by the German artist Wilhelm Lehmbruck, who was a contemporary of Brâncuşi. I bought it from a local auction in the UK and now I have four Lehmbrucks in the collection.’

‘WHEN IT COMES TO AESTHETICS IN MY HOME, I ABSOLUTELY AM OBSESSIVE’

But not all of Moralioglu’s collection comes at auction-level gravitas. Some of his finds are as accidental as stumbling across them at markets on his travels. ‘The least expensive one I own is a wooden bust that
I bought at a market in France. Its features make it look almost like a Modigliani painting rendered in 3D.’ And given his wish list, there’s no end to his collection in sight any time soon. ‘I have many alerts from auction houses across the world and I check them every morning. [There are] so many that I regret not taking home, but I do have to limit my collection.’ At the same time, he’s ‘always on the hunt for Frank Dobson busts, if you see any…’ 

HOW TO START YOUR OWN COLLECTION

The joy of establishing a collection is that it is slow and curious. ‘Developing an active interest and giving yourself time to explore is key. Don’t rush things,’ advises Stephanie Crosland-Goss, a former art buyer for the Tate. A collection doesn’t need to be of high value. ‘To me, the most fascinating collections are those that are inconsequential materially but are vessels for memory and storytelling,’ Julia Jeuvell, founder of cult stationery shop Choosing Keeping, says, who (of course) has a large personal collection of vintage stationery. 

Gemma Moulton, founder of East London Cloth, started collecting as a child with football cards and little glass animal ornaments. Now, ‘almost by accident, I’ve fallen into collecting packaging. It started from a collection of 1920s menus and paper bags I was given, such magic and attention to detail in each one.’

DO YOUR HOMEWORK
‘The challenge with collecting is where to start,’ Crosland-Goss admits. The first tip is to swot up. Paul Middlemiss, founder of the vintage emporium Merchant & Found, says, ‘I spend hours on Google, I read all the catalogues I can find on a certain producer or style and absorb as much history as I can.’ Moulton, meanwhile, has multiple Pinterest boards dedicated to her packaging obsession – which leads to obscure websites.

SEEK A NEW NAME
Look for more obscure designers for a more personal collection. ‘Everyone knows about Ercol furniture now (thanks partly to Margaret Howell making it cool again),’ Middlemiss says, and instead suggests researching Baumann, a French 20th-century producer, and Michael Thonet, known for his Bentwood chairs.  

Amy Rollings, from Rialto, a new design store in London’s Hackney Wick, has some lesser-known makers in her collection, including Gemma Smale, Gunn Ceramics and Giuseppe Parrinello, while Crosland-Goss features artists including Jenni Stuart, Rebecca Hardaker and Rossanne Pellegrino on rental art platform Interrupted Art.

‘DON’T WORRY ABOUT VALUE – COLLECTING SHOULD BE A JOY

HUNT IRL 
After a thorough online deep dive, you need to see pieces ‘in real life to appreciate their true colour, texture and quality’, says Crosland-Goss. It’s also an opportunity to tap up dealers’ knowledge. ‘Most are more than happy to talk,’ Middlemiss says.

Art and design fairs, from the Affordable Art Fair Hampstead (8-12 May) to London Craft Week (13-19 May) to degree shows, including those at Central St Martins, Chelsea Art School and Glasgow School of Art (June), are great places to see new works. 

For vintage furniture, car boot sales and off-the-beaten track antiques centres, such as ones outside Holt in Norfolk and in Levenshulme, Manchester, or markets such as Newark, Nottinghamshire or Ardingley, West Sussex, make great hunting ground. 

USE YOUR HOLIDAYS
Holidays can be key, says Rollings. ‘When my partner and I travel, we plan trips to cities just because we’ve heard about a great antiques or flea market. @kissa.vintage.paris is a great Instagram handle to follow to get all the best intel into the Paris flea market scene.’ Jessica Horton, founder of Deorling, an interior design and antique-sourcing studio, recommends ‘The Sylvain Brocante on the edge of Le Mans – although sometimes you have to wait for the owner to show up.’

REMEMBER WHY YOU COLLECT
Don’t worry too much about value, it should be about the joy a collection brings you. For Jeuvell, her stationery collection ‘gives access into past people’s lives, because objects are the expression of human existence’.

Words: Henrik Lischke. Photos: Annie Schlechter for New York Magazine, Chris Tubbs, Will Sanders/The New York Times Licensing Group/Redux