My favourite gift – as suggested by the Aesthetes

Alison Loehnis – president of Net-a-Porter 

A Heywood Hill subscription is a great gift from the wonderful bookshop. It consults with the giftee and sends them a surprise book a month, based on their tastes, for a year. From £175

Jessica Bell Brown – curator

I gave my five-year-old son a fort-building kit. I love the child’s mind in terms of engineering – they see spaces and shapes very differently. £22, selfridges.com

Frida Escobedo – architect 

An olive tree is a victory sign; I gave one to a loved one who was ill. Similar from £15, humanappeal.org.uk

Courtney Love – musician 

I gave Winston Churchill’s walking stick to my ex-boyfriend, who’s a massive Churchill fan. I bought it from a collector and had my driver go to York to get it.

Kim Sion – creative consultant and ceramicist 

A 1930s diamond ring from Bottazzi Blondeel, my favourite antique jewellery shop in Paris, and a bright pink ceramic Ron Nagle cup – both from Jarvis. I also love the white leather rollerskates with light-up wheels that my daughter [artist Lorena Lohr] gave me. bottazziblondeel.com

Léo Walk – dancer and choreographer 

I gave a photograph of my six aunts to my Portuguese grandmother Mamie Berta. I rounded up all the sisters from all over France, and asked my friend to do a shoot with them. They hadn’t seen each other for ages, and we got a photograph of the whole family together.

Isabel Allende – author 

Thistle Farms is a social enterprise that provides refuge and support for women survivors of trafficking, prostitution and addiction. In order to support themselves, the women make soaps and candles, which I think make perfect gifts. Founder Becca Stevens also came up with the idea to repurpose life vests left on the beach by refugees in Greece. With the help of women from the camp, the shredded vests are transformed into what are called Welcome Mats – an ironic name given they’re not made to feel welcome anywhere. I have several at home and have given many as gifts. thistlefarms.org

Hélène Nguyen-Ban – art collector and app creator 

Friends who know my passion for all things CBD gave me Dusk and Dawn, two tinctures by Gossamer. These aren’t your usual cannabis oils: they contain high levels of very rare cannabinoids, so they have amazing anti-inflammatory properties, help you focus or wind down, and can even regulate your hunger cravings. I also love Rose’s cannabis Turkish delights, which are infused with single-strain flower rosin. $40, roselosangeles.com; $70, gossamer.co

June Ambrose – creative director of Puma 

I feel like everyone I know is operating at such a high frequency, so a self-care voucher – a wellness gift certificate – is the best way to force people to get a vitamin IV drip or a massage. The Equinox club in New York has really skilled therapists who understand sports massages and fitness. equinox.com

John Derian – artist 

I gave ceramic watermelons to a friend who I knew would sort of “get” this beautiful joke present. They’re by Penkridge Ceramics in England, a studio that makes wonderful glazed fruits and vegetables – tomatoes, chestnuts, pears – and each is one-of-a-kind. £170, penkridgeceramics.com

Gaetano Pesce – designer

I worked on a show with Bottega Veneta, and afterwards gave two of the label’s beautiful coats to friends of mine. The idea we realised together was a representation of diversity, and was very successful. bottegaveneta.com

Princess Ira von Fürstenberg – objet designer and former actress 

The most amusing gift I ever received was a wedding present when I married Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe in 1955. It was from Fiat, which was owned by my mother’s family [the Agnellis]; they gave me a Cinquecento that had been specially made for us. It was red and came gift-wrapped with a big bow.

Lucia Pica – make-up artist 

I once received a star, which my friend named “Lucia” for me. Similar from £35, world-star-register.co.uk; from £16.99, starlistings.co.uk

Rodolphe Parente – interior designer 

The best gift I’ve received was a road trip to Las Pozas, Edward James’s surrealist garden in Mexico, planned by a friend. James was an English poet and patron of the surrealist movement – he was friends with Dalí, Picasso and Magritte. In the late 1940s he decided to create this garden of dreams, which is full of huge concrete sculptures and extravagant foliage, in the middle of the jungle. It took us 12 hours by car from Mexico City, but we spent about a day there. laspozasxilitla.org.mx

Anthea Hamilton – artist 

The best gift I’ve received is possibly also the funniest, and the most romantic. There was this stationery shop in Elephant and Castle, and it had these very nice pink A4 binders. I remember saying, “Oh! They’re nice,” and my partner went and bought them all and filled the room with them – about 40 binders. I thought it was so beautiful that I couldn’t put anything in them. I still have them. It was quite nice, his understanding that I wanted to be organised in my life, that I was particular. It was a big gesture. Similar from £35, choosingkeeping.com