Bottega Veneta Launches Furniture Design Competition

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Bottega Veneta has launched a furniture design competition for students at The University of Tokyo and we can't wait to see what they come up with...

Bottega Veneta has launched a furniture design competition for students at The University of Tokyo and creative director, Tomas Maier, was just in town to review the 18 contenders’ initial sketches and outline the project to local journalists. As reported by Amanda Kaiser for WWD:

“I’m always a Japan lover and I’m always a Japan believer,” Maier said at a press conference at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. “This country has a very high sophistication and a tradition of beauty, craft…that has always inspired me. That is why I am here.”

Maier said he asked the students, who are all pupils of famed architect Manabu Chiba, to design a piece of furniture that serves a function for someone sitting down. Students are now in the process of refining their proposals before the field is narrowed to 10 finalists. The three winners will be chosen in December.

The following month, the three winners will travel to Bottega Veneta’s atelier in Vicenza, Italy, where they will inspect the design prototypes being built for them. In April, they will present their projects at Milan’s Salone del Mobile as part of Bottega Veneta’s Japanese-themed presentation. During the weeklong event, Bottega Veneta’s Milan headquarters will host an exhibition of Japanese crafts and a pop-up store featuring special items from Japan and the Italian house. The three competition winners’ designs will be available for special order through Bottega stores and be on display in Ginza later next year.

Bottega Veneta has made efforts to cultivate the next generation of artisans and designers, even going to the extent of opening its own leather goods making school in Vicenza in 2006, but this is the first time the brand has worked with a university. Maier said he wants to continue the contest and take it to other countries around the world.

Three lucky winners will be taken on a private tour of Bottega Veneta's Vicenzaatelier to see their designs assembled by the masters of craftsmanship Bottega is known for, along with a special presentation for preview at Milan's Salone del Mobile in April.

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With our slight Bottega fetish and true love for interior design, we're dying to see what the students come up with. What would you do?

1 Comment

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  Coco_Leigh • over 2 years ago
  you know there will be a lot of woven leather going on!! hope some students will play with the scale of it.

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