Great Design

Gullwing Coupe

Only 1,400 were produced, between 1954 and 1957, making this Mercedes-Benz—which belongs to Ralph Lauren—a collector’s item. Its gullwing doors were the result of form following function: Standard doors did not work with the car’s lighter, barrel-shaped chassis.

André Arbus

“His use of finishes established him as one of the premier Modernists of France in the 1940s,” designer Donna Livingston says of the decorator, furniture designer and architect. His pieces are reproduced exclusively by William Switzer.

Wowo Dog Pod

Glenn Ross, of Vurv Design, outside Vancouver, British Columbia, describes his padded bentwood dog bed as “an Eames chair for your best friend.” Like his other furnishings (and interiors), it combines simplicity and warmth.

Gucci Loafers

A sartorial detour took designer William W. Stubbs away from his beloved Gucci loafers for a brief time. But he soon returned to “the comfort and classic design that seems just as fresh to me today as it did all those years ago.”

Boeing Dreamliner

Set to debut next year, the Boeing 787 will have larger windows, roomier overhead bins and wider seats and aisles than any other airliner. But the first impression travelers will get is of the plane’s exterior, which resembles that of a sleek corporate jet.

Frank Gehry

Frank Gehry’s model for a branch of the Guggenheim Museum, to be built on Saadiyat Island, off the coast of Abu Dhabi. “Gehry affects architecture in an organic way,” says designer Paul Vincent Wiseman.

Official's Hat Chairs

The armchairs, which developed during China’s Ming Dynasty, are often called official’s hat chairs because their extended crest rails resemble the winged shape of a cap.

Lincoln Memorial

Of Henry Bacon’s 1922 memorial in Washington, D.C., built to resemble a Greek temple, architect Oscar Shamamian says, “By using an austere classical language, he designed a space that is simultaneously formal and inviting.”

Wind Farm

More than 4,000 wind turbine generators, some 150 feet high, provide electrical power to Palm Springs, California, and the rest of the Coachella Valley from this wind farm in the San Gorgonio Pass, in the San Bernardino Mountains.

Stetson

Having a six-inch-high crown, a waterproof lining and a seven-inch-wide brim, the durable fur-felt cowboy hat, first manufactured by John B. Stetson in 1865, became a symbol of the American West.

Zaha Hadid

“The façade is pleated. Its louvers allow controlled amounts of natural light in. The forms are angled to create pathways,” AD writer Joseph Giovannini says of Hadid’s Eli and Edy the Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, opening in 2010.

Navajo Blanket

“With their beautiful handloomed designs and clarity of color, the American Indian rugs and blankets from the 1800s are as beautiful in a contemporary setting as they are with antiques,” says designer Laura Hunt. “They go with everything.”

Levi's 501 Jeans

Its colorful origins stretch back to 1873, the year that Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received a patent for their pants-riveting process—the invention of blue jeans. Today it’s an icon, the benchmark of the billion-dollar designer-denim industry.

Fiat 500

The new Fiat 500—currently available only in Europe—stylishly reinvents the original 1950s model, designed for congested Italian cities. Its options include an iPod holder, a fragrance dispenser and a cover printed with a vintage Fiat.

Acoma Pottery

Admired by Thomas Kligerman, the striking pottery vessels of the Acoma Pueblo, in northwestern New Mexico, are characterized by delicate yet sturdy coil-method construction and distinctive polychrome designs.

Four Seasons Restaurant

Since it opened its doors in 1959, Manhattan’s Four Seasons Restaurant, designed by Philip Johnson and Mies van der Rohe, has embodied the International Style. Modern artworks line the walls, and a white-marble pool graces the Pool Room.