It goes without saying that there's a lot of alcohol consumed over the course of the Salone, so it's more than fitting that Bombay Sapphire each year hosts a competition for the best designed drinking vessel.
The Bombay Sapphire Foundation was established in 2001 to recognize, encourage and reward emerging designers. They launched the Designer Glass Competition in 2002, encouraging designers from all corners of the globe to design a glass inspired by the legendary tipple.
The competition is a serious design affair. Bombay Sapphire also commissioned leading design lights to create their own glasses, which are then displayed alongside the finalists. Marcel Wanders, Jonathan Adler, Eva Zeisel and Karim Rashid's creations were hung in a cabinet together. It's rare to view such a stark comparison of the same objects by different designers in such close proximity.
This year, the finalists were from 21 different countries, and as we filed through the suspended display cabinets where each glass was hung, it was possible to glimpse the wealth of inspiration that different countries and cultures brought to each project.
The judging was taken exceptionally seriously and we're proud to say our very own Editor-at-Large, Suzanne Trocmé graced the panel alongside Tom Dixon, Jaime Hayon and last year's winner Jorre van Ast, amongst other design notables. They all drank from each of the finalist's glasses and and appropriate, imaginative design, together with clarity of concept in relation to the brief, were the guiding principles.
Despite the searing temperature of the venue in Zona Tortona (a mid-afternoon sun turned the glass showroom into a greenhouse), crowds packed in to hear Karim Rashid deliver the results. The winner, Sandra Ines Mesquita Da Conceicao from Portugal shrieked before Rashid had even started trying to pronounce her surname.
Her glass, 'Goobly' is made of two parts: a glass container for the liquid and 23 interconnected silver rings that act as a support for the container. The rings hang down like a piece of elaborate Indian jewellery whilst the glass remains static. The combination of the robust vessel and delicacy of the stem made for an intriguing design and we're told the judges unanimously picked her as the winner.
And in the furnace of a showroom, what better to celebrate than with an ice cool gin and tonic or three.
To see the winners and their designs click the gallery thumbnail below.
Click here to see more
INFORMATION
Podcast:
