It was the right location to present the primary student design prize in Germany to be sponsored by luxury luggage maker Rimowa: The Neue Nationalgalerie, an art museum in central Berlin, is an architectural icon designed by legendary German-American architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

The museum, whose name translates to “latest national gallery,” reflects what Mies van der Rohe was known for: Minimalism, clarity and ease, with function guiding form and following the adage the trend-setting architect was best known for — “less is more.”

And that’s what German design normally tends to be known for, Rimowa’s chief executive officer Hugues Bonnet-Masimber told WWD on the event, which was attended by several hundred guests, a mix of young design students of their best hipster black and native design industry luminaries.  

The very best design of any kind, from any country, typically has most of the same attributes, Bonnet-Masimber continued. “But the burden that’s placed on each attribute is different,” he said. “In German design, the burden is placed on function and usefulness. It’s extremely essential. There may be a variety of thought given as to why [a certain design is the way it is] and an actual notion of no unnecessary additions. Although we had a broad range of projects within the competition, it was very clear to me that we had this [German] feeling across all of them,” he added.

That is the primary time the Cologne-based luggage brand has held a design contest for German students. But perhaps it’s not surprising. Rimowa’s parent company, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has run an annual fashion design competition, the LVMH prize, for a decade now, and since 2016, one other stablemate, Loewe, has commonly organized a contest searching for out probably the most expert, distinctive handcrafts.

After all, Rimowa will profit from the added market profile brought by this latest design prize, Bonnet-Masimber confirmed. And the corporate also appreciates the introduction to latest talent and fresh ideas. But that’s not likely what this latest design prize is about, he said. “On the entire, this was really more of a giving back sort of event,” Bonnet-Masimber noted. “The principle is that we act as a canvas for his or her creativity.”

Rimowa’s inaugural German design prize ran from October last 12 months until its conclusion this week. In the beginning of the method, 16 universities from across the country were invited to participate, submitting entries to suit the competition’s theme, mobility.

Mobility “is a key element of Rimowa’s ethos,” a press release from the corporate explained. The brand new annual contest is to be “an initiative that converts potential into tangible projects, which have an enduring impact on global issues.”

Sixty-two entries were submitted, then eventually whittled all the way down to just seven by a jury of local design luminaries, accompanied by each Bonnet-Masimber and Rimowa’s non-executive chairman, Alexandre Arnault. The latter — Rimowa’s former CEO but now an executive at Tiffany & Co., since January 2021 when Bonnet-Masimber took over — was presupposed to attend the ceremony in Berlin but was waylaid by work in Recent York and made a video statement, which was broadcast to guests.

Each of the seven finalists were then mentored by an area, senior design talent after which, Monday afternoon in Berlin, their prototypes were displayed within the luminous essential hall of the Neue Nationalgalerie.

In a transient awards ceremony, student designer Noa Grgic was announced the winner of Rimowa’s 20,000 euro ($21,697) prize. The six other finalists also receive money prizes, starting from 2,500 to 10,000 euros.

Inspired by the Japanese art of “kintsugi” — where broken objects, often ceramics, are joined back along with gold lacquer — Grgic’s project was called Artificial Body Positivity.

“Although the theme was mobility, I didn’t wish to do anything typical, like an e-scooter, or something,” he explained to WWD after his win was announced. “I used to be eager about it in a much bigger sense.”

For individuals who must use prosthetics due to a disability, regaining their mobility is a big achievement. But at the identical time, around a 3rd say they proceed to be depressed or otherwise badly impacted by the undeniable fact that they have to use a prosthetic, Grgic said. His project allows amputees to design or customize their very own prosthetics.

“In the event you take a look at kintsugi, it’s so daring [about what’s been broken], it’s a press release,” he told WWD. “The final word goal can be to get individuals with no prosthetics to be inspired by individuals with prosthetics.”

“To create an object of desire that may even be desired by individuals who usually are not disabled,” jury member Gesa Hansen, a Danish-German furniture designer based in Paris, behind the brand The Hansen Family, confirmed. It was this shift within the pondering that saw Grgic awarded the highest prize, she explained, since it was all about mobility in every sense and it was inclusive too.

Grgic, who attends the State Academy of High-quality Arts in Stuttgart, has one other three years at the least in tertiary education to go, but he plans to take a position the Rimowa prize money in working further on his prototypes.