There are more than 600,000 objects at the V&A East Storehouse, a vast hangar in Stratford, London, that opened earlier this year. A cornucopia of random items, from John Galliano corsets to grandfather clocks and a fitted kitchen, it holds a colossal array of things not currently on display at the various V&A museums. 

What is perhaps less known among its patrons (you, the public) is that anyone can request a closer look. Thanks to the museum’s Order an Object service, visitors can ask to see up to five objects and then, under supervision, scrutinise them for a maximum of four hours. I learned of this service earlier this summer, when a friend informed me that he had used it to research his art degree. It set me on an obsessive project. What would I choose to look at? And, more importantly, what do the V&A staff and associates think are among the most culturally important, exciting or thrilling things to see?

The result, “Me and my object”, was produced by HTSI deputy editor Louis Wise and picture director Katie Webb, alongside Laura Mitchell, the V&A’s senior communications manager. The pieces make up an extraordinary overview of history, weaving personal stories and cultural artefacts to create a portrait of what we find relevant today. Broadcaster Mariella Frostrup, a V&A trustee, has selected a huge quilt that represents the unsung work of female makers, while Tim Reeve, its deputy director and COO, has chosen a massive tapestry and David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust boots. Many of these objects were donated or bequeathed and all are free to see. It’s one of the great privileges of living in Britain that so many of its great institutions are accessible to everyone. 

Accessibility is at the heart of this annual issue, How To Give It, which looks at the world through the broad prism of philanthropy. Phoebe Gates, 23, is just embarking on her own solo journey in the sector but, as the daughter of two of the most high-profile philanthropists, Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, some might say a zeal for giving is in her DNA. She talks to Christina Ohly Evans about her focuses, which include reproductive freedom and maternal health, as well as Phia, a shopping app, and a podcast, The Burnouts, which offers career survival tips from Paris Hilton and suchlike. 

On the surface, Gates could seem a little Elle Woods, the ditzy but good-hearted star of Legally Blonde. She wraps the weighty ideas of collaborative giving and global healthcare in the insouciant tone that typifies Gen Z. Then again, she’s also putting her money where her mouth is: she’s donated millions to charities that support women’s reproductive health.

Many of the people featured in this issue are working within specific industries and cultures to try to find new ways to do things. At Atelier Bordelle Productions in Transylvania, for example, Alexandra Popa is trying to inculcate change within an underwear industry riven with poor working conditions, meagre benefits and low pay. The economics graduate offers a fixed salary to her mostly female garment makers, plus consistent working hours, health benefits and overtime. But with the costs of manufacturing and resources spiralling, Popa’s cause is not an easy one.