Rimowa Proclaims Second Version of German Design Prize

BERLIN — German luxurious baggage maker Rimowa is gearing up for the second version of its annual design prize.

The model’s final ambition for the Rimowa Design Prize, which is geared toward design college students in its house nation and which had its inaugural prize-giving final Could, is for it to turn into synonymous with one of the best of younger German design, Rimowa chief govt officer Hugues Bonnet-Masimbert defined.

“We need to turn into main actors in German design,” he instructed WWD in an unique interview. The corporate would love up-and-coming abilities from throughout the nation to see coming into the competition nearly as a part of their curriculum, he added.

“It’s one thing that’s already beginning to occur,” Bonnet-Masimbert mentioned. “We’ve almost doubled the variety of universities and colleges participating within the prize. And that’s very rewarding.”

Fifteen colleges and universities have been concerned within the first version of the prize. This version will see 30 participating from everywhere in the nation, together with from Berlin, Hamburg, Essen, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Trier.

The competition, which asks for progressive interpretations of the theme of mobility, runs from December to Could 2024. At that stage, seven finalists will likely be introduced, who will then share a prize pool of 55,000 euros.

This 12 months’s judges embody Berlin idea retailer guru Andreas Murkudis; the Vitra Design Museum’s head of assortment and archive, Susanne Graner, and the pinnacle of design administration for sports-car model at Porsche, Matthias Kulla. The jury members ultimately additionally work with, and act as mentors to, the scholar finalists. Rimowa chairman Alexandre Arnault and Bonnet-Masimbert are additionally honorary members of the jury.

“It’s a really broad panel, one that really represents the range of German design,” Bonnet-Masimbert enthused.

For the scholars themselves, it’s honest to say that the prize cash is useful, the Rimowa govt mentioned when requested how final 12 months’s prizewinners have been faring.

“They usually all say that the visibility that it [the prize] will get them is career-changing, even on the scholar stage,” he continued. “However above all, it’s the contact with the mentors that’s been invaluable. To be uncovered to that degree of mentorship as a scholar is simply implausible.”

As for what the model itself will get out of the competition, Rimowa — prized for its grooved aluminum curler suitcases — isn’t planning to make use of the younger prizewinners or snap up their concepts for its personal use. As Bonnet-Masimbert has beforehand mentioned, the entire challenge is extra about giving again.

Clearly sponsoring a contest like this in Germany will increase model consciousness for Rimowa. However Bonnet-Masimbert says there’s extra to it than that, even for him personally.

“It’s tremendous enriching for the model as an entire as a result of it creates circumstances that gas our personal creativity,” he defined. “We additionally contain our personal inventive groups early on within the picks course of so it turns into a world type of course of for the corporate.”

“And personally I discover it very fascinating to be in contact with these 20- to 22-year-old creatives,” he famous. “It actually forces us out of our generational consolation zones. Often, as a model, you’re so deeply into your personal model life. So to all of the sudden transfer from speaking to shoppers to speaking to design academics and college students, there’s a good quantity of — properly, it’s not discomfort — however newness. There’s large richness to this entire train,” he concluded.