Design Digest #2
Design collaborations - clever marketing or creative desperation?
The highlight of the recent Louis Vuitton autumn winter 2026 menswear show wasn’t a new silhouette or a handbag with a new monogram print, but a full scale villa that formed the centrepiece of the runway show.
Known as the Drophaus, the prefabricated house is designed by Pharrell Williams, who oversees menswear at Louis Vuitton, in collaboration with Japanese hospitality firm NOT A HOTEL. The Drophaus is a modernist’s wet dream - a minimalist drop-shaped wooden structure with wraparound glass walls, showcasing a selection of sleek furniture sprinkled with Louis Vuitton branded merchandise. It is what you would expect to see If Apple got bored with iPhones and decided to design houses. The collaboration was a marketing win for NOT A HOTEL, an intriguing outfit that develops high-end design-focused holiday properties which are then leased to owners on a timeshare basis. They have over 30 stylish properties in resort destinations across Japan, designed by top architects like Bjarke Ingels and Sou Fujimoto.
Their latest development, a ski villa in Hokkaido designed by Snøhetta, is a stunner. Great publicity for NOT A HOTEL then, but perhaps less so for Louis Vuitton, as eyeballs were drawn inexorably to the house during the fashion show rather than the models swanning around it.
Around the same time as the Paris menswear shows, another collaboration featuring a French design icon was unveiled at the Maison & Objet furniture and homewares fair. The object in question is the Bic Cristal ballpoint pen - the world’s best selling writing implement, known affectionately the world over as the Biro. Designer Mario Paroli had worked with Italian design brand Seletti to supersize the Biro and turned it into a light, with a LED strip in place of the ink tube. This cheery and whimsical light can be suspended from the ceiling but works best leaning languidly against the wall. We are eagerly waiting for a new version with a chewed end and a bent clip.
Another recent collaboration which scored more derision than admiration was the Lego Brick Clog, created by the eponymous toymaker and plastic footwear brand Crocs. Priced at £149.99, the outsized blocky clogs come with a useful warning that they are “not intended for all day wear”. Fashion design legend Karl Lagerfeld once quipped that sweatpants are for people who’ve given up. I would venture to say the same about Crocs, the wearing of which ought to be banned for anyone over 12. This limited edition design is more of a marketing stunt to herald the launch of a larger collection of Lego-themed footwear, which will no doubt cement Crocs’ position as the casual footwear of choice for plastic loving kids.
Other newly launched creations of dubious utility include an AI-driven custom scent machine developed by MIT Media Lab and a rectangular steering “wheel” designed by Peugeot.
The starting point of the Anemoia Device is distinctly analogue, with users placing actual photographs into the top part of the machine. The photos are scanned and converted into prompts, which are then turned into instructions for the machine to mix custom perfumes using a system of pumps and tanks of fragrances, all powered by AI. Intriguing, but is this really the best use of data centre capacity?
The rectangular automobile steering device is likewise met with much scepticism. Like other car brands before it (including Tesla), Peugeot claims the angular design is a “new ergonomic approach” without really explaining why rectangular is better than round. This is a pity, as some of their other innovations such as the steer-by-wire technology and computer-controlled adjustments in steering ratio (so that, for example, at slow speeds you can turn the car more easily with smaller movements of the wheel) are somewhat drowned out by the sea of scorn directed at the unusual shape of the steering wheel.
On a completely unrelated note - since the Australian Open is approaching its climax, let’s spare a moment to admire the winner of the 2026 World Sports Photography Award: a stunningly well timed shot by photographer Edgar Su, aptly titled “Carlos’ Shadow Hits a Ball”. What an ace!
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So many exciting collaborations !
One only slight disappointment:
I was already dreaming to go walking my dog with the magnificent Lego Brick Clogs but ... I read the warning ! 🤪😂