To raise money for their relocation to Kensington, the Design Museum has partnered with Phillips to stage the 'Time for Design' auction in Berkeley Square.
In aid of the good cause, the Museum has been inundated with generous donations from globally renowned designers and collectors. For example, the Zaha Hadid Foundation has donated three 'Mercuric' collection tables; Ron Arad has contributed his striking 'D-Sofa' in stainless steel; and pop-philanthropist Bono has parted with his Gretsch 'Irish Falcon' guitar.fp
Keen to get in on the action, Apple's chief design officer Sir Jony Ive has created something new: a one-of-a-kind accessory collection for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
Ive has a long history with the Design Museum, which is due to close its Shad Thames location in May, and reopen in Kensington at the end of November. He won their inaugural Designer of the Year award in 2003 for the iMac, and he also showed a prototype of a mobile phone at the museum way back in 1990.
- Read our exclusive behind-the-scenes feature on the Apple Park HQ
His new accessory collection includes an iPad Pro housing, which has been anodised with a custom dye; a blue, suede-lined 'Smart Cover', crafted from supple French leather; and an orange cover for the Apple Pencil, created from fine grain Italian calf leather.
Ive's new products are in single editions, designed exclusively for the Design Museum event. To prove it, 'Edition 1 of 1' has been laser etched on the back surface of the iPad and the interior surface of the 'Smart Cover'.
'We are extremely grateful to the friends of the museum who had donated such outstanding pieces to help us fulfill our ambition of creating one of London’s most important new cultural sites,’ says Design Museum curator (and auction co-curator) Deyan Sudjic.
The auction will also include a range of iconic design objects, often donated directly from the creator's private collections. Pictured left: Gretsch 'Irish Falcon' guitar. Donated by Bono. Estimate: £60,000 – 80,000. Right: 'Poltrona di Proust' armchair, by Alessandro Mendini, 2009. Donated by Alessandro Mendini. Estimate: £30,000 – £50,000
'Bon Bon gold' chair, from the 'Personal Edition' series, by Marcel Wanders, 2010. Donated by Marcel Wanders and Friedman Benda. Estimate: £12,000 – £18,000
'Primitive' table, by Piergiorgio Robino and Stefania Fersini, 2009. Donated by Studio Nucleo and Ammann Gallery. Estimate: £30,000 – £50,000
Set of three 'Bianco Covelano' low tables, from the 'Mercuric' collection, by Zaha Hadid, 2013. Donated by the Zaha Hadid Foundation. Estimate £80,000 – £120,000
Pictured left: 'D-Sofa', by Ron Arad, 1994. Donated by Johannes and Helene Huth. Estimate £100,000 – £150,000. Right: Unique vinyl-wrapped Fiat 500 1.4 16v Sport Dualogic, by Ron Arad, 2008. Donated by Ron Arad. Estimate £20,000 – £30,000
INFORMATION
The ’Time For Design’ live auction will take place on 28 April, with an online auction running from 7 April – 2 May. For more information, visit the Design Museum’s website
Photography courtesy Phillips / Phillips.com
ADDRESS
Phillips
30 Berkeley Square
London, W1J 6EX
-
Premium patisserie Naya is Mayfair’s latest sweet spotHeritage meets opulence at Naya bakery in Mayfair, London. With interiors by India Hicks and Anna Goulandris, the patisserie looks good enough to eat
-
Discover midcentury treasures in Marylebone with Álvaro by AppointmentLondon is full of sequestered design havens, and Wallpaper* knows them all. Allow us to point you in the direction of Álvaro González’s shop window on Nottingham Place, home to a bonanza of beautiful 20th-century antiques
-
Beach chic: the all-new Citroën Ami gets an acid-tinged, open-air Buggy variantCitroën have brought a dose of polychromatic playfulness to their new generation Ami microcar, the cult all-ages electric quadricycle that channels the spirit of the 2CV for the modern age
-
A first look inside the new Oxford Street Ikea. Spoiler: blue bags and meatballs are includedThe new Oxford Street Ikea opens tomorrow (1 May), giving Londoners access to the Swedish furniture brand right in the heart of the city
-
What to see at London Craft Week 2025With London Craft Week just around the corner, Wallpaper* rounds up the must-see moments from this year’s programme
-
Nature sets the pace for Alex Monroe’s first sculpture exhibitionThe British designer hops from jewellery to sculpture for his new exhibition at the Garden Museum, London. Here, he tells us why nature should be at the forefront of design
-
On the Isle of Man, the secret history of designer Archibald Knox is revealedThe mysterious life and works of local designer Archibald Knox is celebrated in a retrospective at Manx Museum, spanning silverware, furniture, clocks and more
-
Wedgwood’s AI tool lets the public reimagine Jasperware for its 250th anniversaryTo celebrate 250 years of Jasperware, Wedgwood debuts an AI tool that opens up the design process to the public for the first time
-
A new London show explores material magic with medieval melancholyInspired by deconsecrated monasteries, interior designer and curator Jermaine Gallacher takes us on a journey through time and mood in a London exhibition at The Ragged School
-
William Morris mania meets the design industry’s darker side in a new London show‘Morris Mania’ at the William Morris Gallery explores the British designer’s complicated legacy in an ever-more commodified world
-
Reimagining remembrance: Urn Studios introduces artistic urns to the UKBridging the gap between art and memory, Urn Studios offers contemporary, handcrafted funeral urns designed to be proudly displayed
