Welcome to the Issue
REPORTS OF THE PANdemic-era demise of cities were, to borrow the phrase, greatly exaggerated. For evidence, look no further than this issue of ELLE DECOR, our second annual celebration of design in some of the world’s most fascinating urban places. When last year the editorial team put together our November 2020 Cities Issue, the pandemic had upended some prognosticators’ sense of the value, and the staying power, of global capitals. That seemed short-sighted and pessimistic to me then. A year on—and especially after attending a resurgent Milan Design Week in September, the first since 2019—I remain so grateful for the magic, creativity, and energy of cities. And it turns out that proximity, community, and serendipity—things every metropolis offers in spades—lead to some real future-shaping, head-turning design work. Our cover story is…