ATELIER100 UNVEILS SECOND DROP OF ITS CREATIVE INCUBATOR PROGRAMME, LAUNCHING AT LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL 2023

Following its successful debut last year, Atelier100 will launch Drop02, a distinctive new collection of limited edition pieces designed by its 2023 Cohort of 22 hand-picked creatives, all designed in London. The drop will be showcased and available for pre-order at a Dalston pop-up showroom as part of the London Design Festival.

DROP02 COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS & DESIGNERS 

Drop02 demonstrates a fresh, eclectic approach to design and making, embodying the shapes, colours and textures of each designer’s surroundings, and harnessing the energy and hustle of London life. Highlights from the new collection include modular clothing that employs an idiosyncratic inlay technique which allows each panel to be modified individually, 3D printed footwear created using algorithmic modelling, a glass vase blown from newspaper moulds, and unique upholstered mirrors made using high-end fabric scraps. Every product is rooted in local collaboration and networking amongst the creative community in London, be it via sourcing, manufacture or making. 

For 2023, Atelier100 expanded its Cohort to work with almost double the amount of designers, bringing onboard 22 talented creatives based in London. Following an open call to find original and visionary product ideas, each designer chosen, from architects to sculptors and fashion designers, has defined their creative explorations in a product. The talented roster of designers for 2023 includes tailor Andrew Eastmond, ceramicist Stephanie Sommet, menswear designer Pokuaa Ansere and multi-disciplinary maker Joseph Ellwood. You can view the full Cohort 2023 HERE.

“Great design, in my opinion, starts with a challenge in mind, rather than a product. We encouraged our resident designers to respond to a lifestyle need with a product possessing a viable method of local production. The end result is a thought-provoking collection that is community-led and firmly rooted in today’s ways of living, reflective of the incredible network of creatives that Atelier100 has created, invested in, and nurtured.”
​Marcus Engman, Creative Director, Ingka Group (IKEA Retail) 

DROP02 TRENDS 

Repurpose and reuse is a common thread throughout the collection, from vintage silver rings translated into jewellery from multi-disciplinary maker Izzi Valentine, genderless trousers using deadstock denim by androgynous fashion studio LECLÒ, and lighting made by remelting and regenerating glass from industrial lenses by furniture and installation designer, Annalisa Iacopetti. 

Many designers have also contemplated what London’s multi-faceted culture represents today through their pieces. Fashion designer Abiola Onabule examines how humble cotton can be brought to life in her work and represent the collective chaos of the city through the uniform tradition of a shirt, while design studio CAN has celebrated London’s natural world with a chair fabricated from storm-fallen plane trees in the city, and 3D printed rocks archiving those found on the Thames foreshore. Sculptor Jess Flood Paddock conceived a magnified bicycle saddle chair that aims to shed light on the routine theft of bicycle parts in the city that have become an alternative currency of exchange. ​ 

Much of the collection honours the flexibility of the body and its form. The collection includes adjustable knitted garments that grow or shrink with the wearer - a radical innovation created by experimental textile designer Alexandra Larrabure, vases that mimic the colours and systems within the body, from ceramics and glass artist Rosie Stonham. 

British craft and manufacture were at the forefront of the Drop02 designer brief and every piece is a celebration of both traditional and unexpected techniques available here in the UK. Traditional practices such as sewing, welding and casting marry up with metal spinning, 3D printing and powder coating, reinforcing the huge potential for more local production by retailers in the future. Furthermore, the drop02 products support an extensive variety of suppliers based in the UK and its capital, including waxed cotton from British Millerain and London Plane wood. Products have been fabricated in collaboration with a number of UK manufacturers, including Fabric Works, Dalston Mills and KBN Knitwear. 

“It is so interesting how the patterns we see come from different lifestyles and experiences of Londoners and its creative community. It’s how they wear their clothes, how they live. Londoners are reflecting their city, it’s a thread we see throughout the collection.”
​Austė Skrupskytė Cullbrand, Creative Leader, Atelier100 

LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL POP-UP SHOWROOM

The pop-up will be spatially designed by art and design studio Mitre & Mondays, part of Atelier100’s 2022 drop01, who have continued to collaborate by selling their pieces via Atelier100. Atelier100 has collaborated with TEMPLO creative studio to execute the project, with a brief centred around harnessing London’s creative community in a range of disciplines. These include photographer Taran Wilkhu, and music producer Fredwave who has created a sensory complementary playlist to enhance the spatial experience. 

“Finding, developing and investing in new talent is one of the core pillars of Atelier100. The joint exploration of H&M and Ingka Group in the backing of this project has enabled us to bring together our expertise and influence in order to support emerging creatives, designers and makers."
​Camilla Henriksson, Global Brand Innovation Manager at H&M

For HR imagery, more information, interviews, quotes and product loans, please contact Camron. 

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NOTES TO EDITORS

A think tank and a store all rolled into one, Atelier100 aims to discover and support emerging, London-based creatives by helping them bring their products to life, and inspiring local communities to shop close to home. Now in its second year, it is driven by an exciting collective of creatives, makers and design industry experts. Atelier100 was established to bring the focus back towards the merits of local design and local production, giving agency to ideas that might otherwise have remained in limbo.

Established by H&M and Ingka Group (IKEA Retail), Atelier100 combines masterclasses in business know-how, 1-2-1 mentoring sessions and the opportunity for creatives with original product ideas to bring their concepts to life. Every product for sale has been designed in and around London, and is available to buy at our Hammersmith store. ​ 

Atelier100 Collaborators

Collaboration and expanding the networks of its designers is at the heart of Atelier100’s mission, supporting all facets of the creative community in London and beyond. For their Drop02 campaign and London Design Festival, Atelier100 has worked with a team of exciting creatives to further champion the city’s melting pot of talent. 

Campaign: 

Creative Direction / Campaign identity: TEMPLO

Photographer: Mathushaa Sagthidas 

Stylist: Vashanthiya Varan 

Set Designer: Serene Khan

Make up artist: Katie Moore and team 

Models: ANHAD, Sophia Abbassy, Joshua Gee, Busayo, Hafsa, Lisa Keane, ADIL

Film: William Scothern

Writer: Ceridwen Tallett

London Design Festival: 

Store / Pop-up Photographer: Taran Wilkhu 

Music: Fredwave