Designers and Editors on What They Love About Valentine’s Day—and What They’d Actually Give

Valentine’s Day arrives with its familiar choreography—roses, reservations, last-minute gestures—but we wanted to move beyond the usual gift guide. So we asked nine designers and editors who spend their lives translating desire into objects what they actually want to receive, and what the holiday means to them in the first place.

What emerged wasn’t a shopping list but a framework for thinking about attention itself. Some want heirlooms. Others want atmosphere. A few admitted they don’t buy into the holiday at all, but stay for what it represents: a culturally sanctioned moment to be deliberate about love.

Grace Ladoja, Founder, HOMECOMING

Grace Ladoja doesn’t particularly believe in Valentine’s Day as a commercial enterprise, but she’s interested in the prompt it provides. “I think it’s important to let people know you love them always,” says the founder of Homecoming, the concept store that’s become a destination for discovering emerging designers alongside established names. For her, the ideal gift creates possibility—a piece of furniture that transforms a room, a bag that suggests travel, a ring that carries weight beyond its carats. She lists a Marni woven stool, a Maison Margiela Medium Classic Japanese Bag in Angel Falls, and a Veneda Carter sapphire heart ring as examples, but it’s less about the specific objects than the thinking behind them. “I’m drawn to things that feel expressive,” she says. What matters isn’t the price point but the curation: “Something that shows you’ve thought about who this person actually is.”

Odio Oseni, Founder, Odio Mimonet

Odio Oseni, who founded the Lagos-based brand Odio Mimonet, has a more expansive view of the holiday. “It’s a day for lovers across the spectrum,” she says. “Those in happy relationships, those yearning for romantic love, friends who cherish their friendships, those deeply loved by family.” Her collections often explore intimacy through texture and drape, so it makes sense that her Valentine’s preferences lean toward the sensory. She gravitates toward flowers and fragrance from Cececa, the Nigerian botanical studio. “Sometimes the most meaningful gifts are the ones that fill a room and then fade, leaving only memory,” she says. The impermanence is the point.

Ekow Barnes, Editor, Guzangs

Ekow Barnes, an editor at Guzangs, is unequivocal: “Nothing makes a better Valentine gift than a solid perfume.” He recommends Byredo’s Bal d’Afrique or Talata’s Ambiance, a Ghanaian fragrance brand. But lately his thinking has shifted toward longevity in general. “I’m not overly sentimental in a cliché romance way, but I deeply love what Valentine represents—intentional love and sharing,” he says. The appeal, for him, is similar to Christmas: “It’s all about sharing, creating sweet moments.” At 30-something, he’s less interested in trends than in pieces that hold value: a Jacquemus bag, solid gold jewelry from Missoma or Mejuri, things he can wear for years or pass down. “I feel like I’m getting older and I’m really more into fashion as investment now, not just fancy pieces.”

Angel Joanne, Fashion Editor, KLAT

Angel Joanne, a fashion editor at KLAT, shares that interest in pieces that endure. “I’m not overly sentimental in a cliché romance way, but I deeply love what Valentine represents—intentional love and sharing,” she says. She’s gravitating toward the same territory: a Jacquemus bag, solid gold jewelry, things she can wear for years or pass down. “I feel like I’m getting older and I’m really more into fashion as investment now, not just fancy pieces.” If she’s dreaming closer to home, a dress from Kai Collective for dinner would feel special—something beautiful for the night itself, but also something she’d reach for again.

Kunda Nampasa, Intern, Guzangs

Kunda Nampasa, a Guzangs intern, is the self-described hopeless romantic of the group. “I love Valentine’s Day because it’s the one day you get to do all the cheesy romantic things,” she says. But she’s skeptical of the arms race it’s become. “Recently everyone has taken the day in very materialistic terms—who can make the biggest grand gesture.” Her advice? Understand your partner’s love language first. “If they value quality time, plan a day around their favorite hobby. If they prefer acts of service, fill up their gas tank.” If you must give something tangible, she suggests things that show you’ve been paying attention: a handwritten letter, a camera lens mug for the creative type, tickets to a game. Not expensive, just considered.

Rukky Ladoja & Ozzy Etomi, Founders, Dye Lab

For Rukky Ladoja and Ozzy Etomi of Dye Lab, jewelry has always carried particular weight. Their collaboration with South African brand Pichulik—which includes the Olori Necklace, the Ase Bracelet, and the Calabash Earrings—was designed as “a celebration of African sisterhood beyond borders,” they say. The collection came out of conversations about craft and heritage between the two brands, both of which prioritize ethical production and storytelling through design. “At its core, it’s about women building together across the continent through a shared language of intention, creativity, and contemporary design,” they say. They’re drawn to pieces that carry meaning beyond the moment, objects that absorb memory and become part of someone’s daily ritual. Which is probably why jewelry feels like the right Valentine’s gift to them—it stays, it accumulates meaning, it becomes part of how someone moves through the world.

Akunna Nwala-Akano, Founder, AKANO

Nwala-Akano of AKANO thinks about permanence too. “Jewelry has always represented that for me,” says the designer, whose work with traditional Nigerian techniques has made her a key figure in conversations about craft preservation and contemporary design. “It’s something we wear close. It moves with us. It absorbs memory and meaning.” Long after Valentine’s Day passes, she notes, a piece remains—holding the intention behind the gift, the moment it marked, the promise it symbolized. Outside of jewelry, she’s drawn to Torlowei Ewoma’s embroidered dresses, pieces where the craftsmanship itself becomes the romance. “There’s something about that level of detail and care that feels appropriate for Valentine’s,” she says. The hand work, the time invested, the attention—it translates.

Oury Sene, Editorial Contributor, Guzangs

“I’m in love with love itself, the way it lingers in gestures, in glances, in the little acts that make hearts flutter,” says Oury Sene, a writer at Guzangs. For her, Valentine’s Day has a particular atmosphere—a quiet magic that celebrates tenderness and connection. When it comes to gifts, she’s drawn to pieces that carry that same intentionality: the Diana heel from Brendy Congo, the Solo Studio horn bag in dark red. Objects that feel considered, beautiful, and specific to the person receiving them. “There’s something about choosing something with that level of attention,” she says. “It’s not about the price, it’s about showing you understand what makes someone feel special.”