DESIGNER OF THE YEAR

Tom Dixon has never really been one to take his foot off the pedal. With a career that spans over 30 years and a vast catalogue of iconic products, some of which reside in the collections of the world’s most famous museums (think the Centre Pompidou, MOMA and the V&A), he is also the creator of an impressive roster of hotels, experimental spaces and restaurants including eatery The Coal Office at his own King’s Cross HQ in Coal Drops Yard. With retail hubs around the globe and his eponymous brand represented in more than 90 countries worldwide, it’s fair to say that his productivity is rivalled by very few.

Not even a global pandemic could halt Dixon’s output, and throughout 2020 he continued to push boundaries with materials and manufacturing. Recent additions to his ever-burgeoning inventory include ‘Cork’, a carbon-negative collection first conceptualised for his silver-medal-winning Chelsea Flower Show garden in 2019, and ‘Swirl’, a range of tables, vases and candles formed from surplus marble dust, pigment and resin. Also new is ‘Mass’, a monolithic table extruded from a single section of brass, and the whisk-like ‘Spring’ pendants made from pliant stainless-steel ribbons that literally spring to life. Beyond product design, in March 2020 Dixon launched the Tomorrow Channel, a collaborative digital platform and broadcast centre on Instagram, YouTube and his own microsite to share ideas and communicate with people during the depths of lockdown.

Now, thanks to all of the above, Dixon can add the ELLE Decoration Designer of the Year Award to his already impressive collection of accolades. ‘It’s been a punishing, complex and chaotic year and we have had to adapt, deconstruct and reshape ourselves continually to survive,’ he says. ‘This makes it extra nice to be noticed, and even more fabulous to be given this honour!’ (tomdixon.net)

‘IT’S BEEN A PUNISHING, COMPLEX AND CHAOTIC YEAR AND WE HAVE HAD TO ADAPT, DECONSTRUCT AND RESHAPE OURSELVES CONTINUALLY TO SURVIVE’