Some of the skills architects use to design buildings are also applicable to other sculptural products, from furniture and vases to home décor, handbag clasps, and drinkware. Their sketches and other artwork also make good graphics for plates or bowls. It is no surprise, then, that architects, living and deceased, have lent their names, drawings, and designs to a variety of consumer products, largely in home goods categories.
In one of the most recent instances, last fall Lenox introduced a Blue Azzurro collection of tableware designed by architect Luca Andrisani, featuring three mix-and-match patterns inspired by Mediterranean tiles. Other examples:
- Frank Gehry’s home goods partners have included Alessi (for a water kettle), Emeco (chair), Louis Vuitton (handbag), Knoll (furniture), and Vitra (chairs).
- Jean Nouvel Design’s products have ranged from furniture with Emeco and other companies to cutlery with Georg Jensen.
- Renzo Piano has designed furniture and home décor for companies such as Riva 1920 and Iittala.
- Zaha Hadid Design has created items such as clutches with sculptural clasps, chess sets, and tableware.
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s home décor products have ranged from wall clocks for Bulova and textiles with Rennie & Rose.
- Rem Koolhaas has collaborated with Knoll on furniture.
Many of the programs enumerated here, and others like them over the years, reside on the high end of the price and distribution spectrum. But perhaps the most well-known example of an architect-driven licensing program in the U.S. was a more mainstream one: Michael Graves’ long-time DTR deal with Target, which encompassed a wide range of categories, from kitchen tools and dinnerware to appliances and serveware.
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