John Pawson Designs Fashion Awards Trophies From Swarovski Crystal
John Pawson helped out with his family’s textile business before he practiced architecture. Aside from occasional retail projects, he hasn’t worked in fashion since. That is, until the British Fashion Council and Swarovski commissioned him to design the trophy for this year’s Fashion Awards.
Pawson created a minimalist cylinder from Swarovski crystal that encases a lacquer “thread” through its center. The trophy’s slanted top features a convex lens, which magnifies the thread when viewed from above. Swarovski’s artisans handcrafted each trophy at the company’s headquarters in Wattens, Austria.
“The palette of thread colors is distinctive when viewed individually and engaging when viewed as a collective, which speaks to the diversity of the 2017 award winners,” says Pawson, an Interior Design Hall of Fame member. “The inherent qualities of Swarovski crystal enhance the simplicity of the cylindrical form and colored thread, producing a celebratory play of light and color.”
Related: John Pawson completes interiors for the Design Museum, London
The project continues a longstanding relationship between Pawson and Swarovski. At the London Design Festival 2011, they joined forces for an installation at St. Paul’s Cathedral, which featured the largest Swarovski concave meniscus lens ever commissioned from the company’s optical division.
The Fashion Awards 2017 will take place at the Royal Albert Hall on December 4.
Related: Perkins + Will and Valerie Pasquiou Dress Up Swarovski’s New York Office
