Skip to Main Content
Advertisement
Advertisement

Distinct in its amber glow

Aesop’s signature amber packaging has long been synonymous with the brand’s thoughtful design and understated luxury. This warm, translucent hue, present in every iconic bottle, encapsulates the essence of the brand’s aesthetic. Now, this distinctive amber takes centre stage in Aesop’s inaugural collaboration with Vancouver-based design studio Bocci. Known for its sculptural lighting, Bocci has reimagined its 14p pendant light in Aesop’s signature amber, creating a limited-edition, handcrafted portable table lamp that beautifully embodies the shared values of both brands—melding artful imperfection with functional design.

Aesop x Bocci
Aesop x Bocci

Aesop has a knack for designer collaborations. Back in January, the brand’s Queen West store housed an exhibit for the DesignTO Festival in collaboration with local designer Jeremy Joo.

The collaboration coincides with the unveiling of the second artistic residency at Aesop’s Gansevoort Street store, located in the heart of New York’s Meatpacking district. Designed with a vaulted ceiling to serve as a gallery for contemporary works, the space was conceived as a community hub where art, in all its forms, can be celebrated. This September, Bocci’s iconic 14 pendant light will be spotlighted, gracing the vaulted ceiling in an installation that will remain in place for one year. A playful extension of this partnership can also be found at Aesop Rockefeller Center in New York and Aesop Gastown in Vancouver, where the same lights will hang in the store windows.

Entirely wireless, the limited-edition lamp is composed of two imperfectly poured-glass hemispheres—much like each Aesop store, no two lights are the same. The result is a glowing object that exudes the warmth and thoughtfulness for which both brands are represented.

Priced at $445, this exclusive design will be available at Aesop Yorkdale and Yorkville in Toronto.

“As a studio driven by collaboration, we are thrilled to partner with Aesop on this series of installations and the exclusive version of our 14p light,” says Bocci spokesperson Erin Challoner Waugh. “We’ve long admired Aesop’s considered approach to design and felt a kindred connection to their spirit of thoughtful experimentation.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

Okay, but it clearly is

For the first 16 years of my life, the bat cave at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)—a reconstruction of an actual cave in Jamaica—was among my favourite places in the city. The cave was decorated with cast stalactites and wax bat models, which hung from the ceiling and threw jagged shadows on the walls. A few other features imbued it with spooky verisimilitude: the drip-drip-drip sound effects, the mirrors arranged to create the illusion of infinite depth, the strobe lights strategically placed to make the shadows flutter. When I visited as a five-year-old, the bat cave scared me. When I visited as a stoned fifteen-year-old, it scared me even more. Then came the renovation.

Advertisement

Newsletter

Your Weekly Dose of Modern Design

Sign up for the Designlines weekly newsletter to keep up with the latest design news, trends and inspiring projects from across Toronto. Join our community and never miss a beat!

Please fill out your email address.

The Magazine

Get the Latest Issue

From a sprawling family home in Oakville to a coastal-inspired retreat north of the city, we present spaces created by architects and interior designers that redefine the contemporary.

Designlines 2024 Issue