From the Editor Christian Schwalbach “ Our connection to other people buoys our optimism, spurring our planning instincts for when better times arrive – and reminding us about what’s truly important „ 12 DEPARTURES OVER THE PAST 16 YEARS the whole team here at Departures has demonstrated a remarkable ability to stay ahead of travel trends, fashion fads and all the latest and greatest from across the globe. So we find ourselves in unfamiliar territory at the moment. As I write these words – the day we go to press – we don’t know how the world will look by the time you’re reading them. In recent weeks I have been reaching out to friends and colleagues from Lisbon to Miami by phone, Skype, Zoom, FaceTime and many platforms more. One commonality that emerges, ironically, is simply that we’re all talking to each other so much, no matter where we live. The conversations might not be the face-to-face ones we crave, but they remain meaningful nonetheless, consoling us in our grief as well as buoying our optimism, spurring our planning instincts for when better times arrive – and reminding us about what’s truly important. We have always taken seriously our mission to inform and inspire you, and this quarter is no different. We are proud to put together this issue for you, finding the right balance of articles – some were cut, others added very late – to offer comforts, dreams and plans for the future. Because we are all spending so much time at home, we wanted to spur your design imagination with stories on sofas, linens and statement pieces, while elsewhere we hope you let your minds roam freely to Oslo, California’s central coast and across our curated selection of island escapes. The current situation has been everpresent in our minds as well over the past weeks, and it’s been heart-warming to see the friends, colleagues and firms who are demonstrating their generosity in extraordinary ways. American Express, for instance, has not only given million to combat COVID-19 worldwide, but has also paired with Hilton Hotels to offer free rooms for up to one million frontline medical professionals. I encourage you to take note of those who are giving that little bit extra at the moment – and to remember them as life starts to normalise again.
