crystal installation
(Image credit: Gwenaël Nicolas)

Swarovski has pulled out all stops for this month's Crystal Palace, calling in five design world heavyweights to create a series of one-off installations for Milan's Salone del Mobile.

Drawing on Swarovski crystal for inspiration, Tokujin Yoshioka, Gwenaël Nicolas, Yves Béhar, Rogier van der Heide and Vincent van Duysen have each been commissioned to come up with a crystalline reinterpretation of the traditional chandelier, as Nadja Swarovski says: 'Our designer collaborations not only push the boundaries of the designers' own work but also of the use of Swarovski crystal in an artistic, decorative and functional way.'

Curated by the Wapping Project's very own Jules Wright - whose background in theatre has no doubt informed her Crystal Palace concept -- the show features a series of rooms, in which visitors will find each designer's work ensconced within various palatial backdrops.

Each of the rooms have been inspired by palaces from around the globe, including Versailles and its hall of mirrors, the Winter Palace in St Petersburg and Tokyo's Imperial palace. The final room of the exhibition will feature a special exhibition, in celebration of some of the most innovative Crystal Palace concepts from the past eight years.

To learn more about the designers, curator and this month's Crystal Palace commissions see the links below.

Tokujin Yoshioka

Rogier van der Heide

Gwenaël Nicolas

Vincent van Duysen

Yves Béhar

Jules Wright

Swarovski Crystal Palace 2010

’Sparks’ by Gwenaël Nicolas. The string of Swarovski crystals has been designed to emit occasional sparks of light, from LED’s embedded within.

(Image credit: Gwenaël Nicolas)

Swarovski Crystal Palace 2010

’Sparks’ by Gwenaël Nicolas.

(Image credit: Gwenaël Nicolas)

Swarovski Crystal Palace 2010

’Dream Cloud’ by Rogier van der Heide. The installation features a cluster of thousands of tiny crystals suspended above the ground. The crystals are then illuminated by ’narrow beams of moonlight’.

(Image credit: Rogier van der Heide)

Swarovski Crystal Palace 2010

’Frost’ by Vincent van Duysen. The installation features a series of modular ’beams’ consisting of LED lights encased within thin glass panels.

(Image credit: Vincent van Duysen)

Swarovski Crystal Palace 2010

’Amplify’ by Yves Béhar. The Installation consists of a series of gem-shaped paper lanterns, each of which contain one real crystal, designed to refract light against the surface of the paper.

(Image credit: Yves Béhar)

Swarovski Crystal Palace 2010

’Amplify’ by Yves Béhar. The lanterns are produced using little more than a sheet of recyclable paper, one crystal and one low-energy consuming LED light.

(Image credit: Yves Béhar)

’Amplify’ by Yves Béhar.

’Amplify’ by Yves Béhar.

(Image credit: Yves Béhar)

Swarovski Crystal Palace 2010

’Stellar’ by Tokujin Yoshioka. The installation consists of two parts, the first, a one-meter diameter globe encrusted with Swarovski crystals, lit from within. The second element consists of another globe within a tank, upon which crystals will naturally grow.

(Image credit: Tokujin Yoshioka)

Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.