Yinka Illori teams with Veuve Clicquot
Designer Yinka Illori is debuting a limited‑edition collection of drinks accessories in collaboration with Veuve Clicquot at Milan Design Week, extending his bright, joy‑driven visual language into lifestyle objects (wallpaper.com). Wallpaper describes the capsule as collectible entertaining pieces timed to the citywide design program rather than a traditional runway drop (wallpaper.com).
Yinka Ilori has designed a limited-edition Veuve Clicquot accessories collection that debuts at Milan Design Week from April 21 to 26, 2026. (veuveclicquot.com) The project is called “Chasing the Sun,” and Veuve Clicquot is showing it at Mediateca Santa Teresa on Via della Moscova 28 in Milan’s Brera Design District. The display includes an immersive installation, a café and a boutique selling the pieces. (fuorisalone.it) The collection includes a reworked Clicquot Arrow gift box, a “Sun Holder” champagne bucket and a series of “Sun Totems,” which Veuve Clicquot describes as portable drinking vessels. Wallpaper said the bucket and vessels are made from upcycled materials with 3D-knitting technology and keep bottles chilled for up to 90 minutes. (wallpaper.com) Veuve Clicquot is using Milan Design Week as a product launch as much as an exhibition slot. The citywide program runs across Milan from April 20 to 26, 2026, with Salone del Mobile opening April 21, putting the brand in front of the design industry as well as luxury shoppers. (milanoandpartners.com) That fits Veuve Clicquot’s recent push to frame itself through design objects and hospitality, not only through wine. Fuorisalone lists “Chasing the Sun” under food and beverage, installation and product design, and the event pairs the exhibition with tastings of the house’s cuvées. (fuorisalone.it) For Ilori, the collaboration extends a practice built on furniture, public space and home objects into branded drinks accessories. His studio says his work draws on British-Nigerian heritage and Nigerian parables, while Art UK notes he has embraced the label “Architect of Joy.” (yinkailori.com, artuk.org) That background shows up directly in the forms. WWD reported that Ilori used the calabash, a gourd associated across West African culture with nourishment and sharing, as a recurring reference in the bucket and bottle designs. (wwd.com) The color story also ties back to Veuve Clicquot’s own branding history. Wallpaper and Moët Hennessy Diageo’s brand history both trace the house’s signature yellow label to 1877, giving Ilori a ready-made palette for a collection built around sun imagery. (wallpaper.com, mhdkk.com) The pieces are not staying in Milan. Forbes reported the collection will be stocked at Selfridges from May 2026 after its global unveiling during the fair. (forbes.com) So the Milan installation is serving two jobs at once: a design-week spectacle in Brera and a retail rollout for collectible barware tied to Veuve Clicquot’s Yellow Label and Rosé bottles. (forbes.com, fuorisalone.it)
