11 Design Collabs We’re Loving Right Now—From Lingua Franca, Camille Walala, and More

By Alia Akkam and Mel Studach

If the market's latest debuts have any lesson to tell, it's that the design community indeed works better together. From Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent's wanderlust-fueled furniture for Living Spaces to Crate and Barrel's tableware that celebrates the archive of Lucia Eames, industry brands across categories are coming together to bring thoughtful new offerings to designers’ tool kits. Looking for the latest in furniture, decor, lighting, and beyond? Meet the industry's latest dynamic duos.

Camille Walala x Ambar

Camille Walala x Ambar

Camille Walala x Ambar

When French multidisciplinary artist Camille Walala and Natalia Nicolau, of the textile-development hub Ambar, realized they had neighboring studios, it was only a matter of time before they’d be working together. Now, the time has come. The duo recently unveiled an eye-catching, UK-produced line of knitted textiles for the table and home. Monumental murals and installations are the norm for Walala, so these small-scale objects, including Merino wool throws and jacquard table runners, are particularly captivating. Sculptural floor cushions are accentuated with Walala's signature black and white stripes, and graphic placemats take cues from the dimensional interplay of architecture and natural light.

Heath Ceramics x Artek

Heath Ceramics x Artek

Embracing natural materials is a hallmark of both Artek, the Finnish furniture company launched in 1935 (Alvar and Aino Aalto were among its founders), and Heath Ceramics, known for its California-made dinnerware since 1948. Fusing their respective passions for solid bentwood and clay, the heritage design brands have joined forces on the Rectangular Tile and Square Tile tables. Manufactured in Finland from the local birch beloved by the Aaltos, the pieces are crowned with an assemblage of rectangular or square-shaped Heath tiles in varying shades of green, white, and black. Complementing the tables is a special edition of Alvar's iconic Stool 60. First designed in 1933, the versatile piece has now been reinterpreted as a set of nesting stools in a continuum of green tones.

Chris Kerr-Ayer x Haand

Chris Kerr-Ayer x Haand

Porcelain pottery is Haand's usual medium, but the Burlington, North Carolina, studio is now venturing into glass. Cofounder Mark Warren teamed up with glass artist Christopher Kerr-Ayer to launch a trifecta of wabi-sabi-esque glasses that bear the imprint of the maker's hand. The wine glass, subtly shaped like a tulip and propped up by a short stem, references the Flemish styles that made cameos in 16th-century still life paintings, while the highball (which doubles as a water glass) calls to mind a refined lab beaker. The casual, everyday tumbler evokes carefree afternoons, sipping wine at Spanish bodegas.

Duro Olowu x Paperless Post

Duro Olowu x Paperless Post

Duro Olowu x Paperless Post

Duro Olowu x Paperless Post

Nigerian-British fashion designer Duro Olowu never shies away from layering bustling patterns in his clothing designs, and his capsule collection of invitations for Paperless Post is just as bold in spirit. Drawing from such motley influences as Arts and Crafts terrazzo and antique African fabric, the digital invites and coordinating envelopes match the energy of any great get-together: incredibly festive and fun in hot pink, indigo, tomato red, and marigold.

Rosie Li x Mondays

Rosie Li x Mondays

When drafting the plans for their inaugural lighting series, Jennifer Fiore and Nina Lalli, founders of the ceramics workshop Mondays, and lighting designer Rosie Li consistently harkened back to the rhythmic beauty of Constantin Brâncuși's towering Endless Columns. The raw, geometric influences now radiate in Pilar, the seven-piece collection of hand-built, one-of-a-kind lamps juxtaposing clays cloaked in earthen glazes with finishes such as solid brass or Spanish alabaster globes. New Yorkers can drop by Rosie Li Studio until January 31 to see the stunning intricacies of each piece in person.

Guido Faleschini x Sutherland Furniture

Guido Faleschini x Sutherland Furniture

During the 1971 Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan, Italian architect Guido Faleschini unveiled the modernist Tucroma dining chair, accompanying a metal frame with leather upholstery. The innovative design continues to be sought after, which propelled Sutherland Furniture, in tandem with i 4 Mariani, the Italian family-owned furniture maker and licensed Tucroma manufacturer, to create a hardy outdoor version. Fashioned out of superior Marine grade 316 stainless steel and reticulated foam, the Tucroma 316 dining chair is adorned with saddle leather straps that infuse alfresco feasts with midcentury style.

Lucia Eames x Crate and Barrel

Lucia Eames x Crate and Barrel

Lucia Eames, the late daughter of Charles and Ray Eames, was a designer in her own right, and Crate and Barrel aims to bring more attention to her little-known, multidisciplinary oeuvre with a collection of home decor, textiles, and tableware that taps into her recently uncovered archive of joyful designs. Along with oval serving platters, organic cotton table runners, and recycled cashmere cushions and throws, look for whimsical old-fashioned glasses decorated with stars, white ceramic dinner plates emblazoned with hearts, and a black metal candelabra that sweetly unites the silhouettes of two birds.

Campbell-Rey x Nordic Knots x Hotel Il Pellicano

Campbell-Rey x Nordic Knots x Hotel Il Pellicano

Hotel Il Pellicano, a glamorous refuge on the Tuscan coast, is one of Italy's most fabled retreats, led by taste-making CEO and creative director Marie-Louise Sciò. When Sciò, who is also the founder of the hotel's accompanying retail site Issimo, grew smitten with Climbing Vine, the Art Deco– and Gustavian-tinged rug designed by London studio Campbell-Rey for Nordic Knots, she was keen to bring the sold-out design to Il Pellicano. The desire manifested in a limited-edition rug that delineates the meandering, chartreuse-tinted foliage synonymous with Climbing Vine, yet specifically nods to the terra-cotta-hued Il Pellicano and surrounding landscape in an exclusive colorway. Naturally, each of the hotel's 47 rooms is graced with one.

Lingua Franca x Wallshoppe

Lingua Franca x Wallshoppe

For Rachelle Hruska MacPherson, founder of fashion label Lingua Franca, memories of grandma's house are dotted with suspended wrought iron birdcages, flowers in the form of hand-crocheted doilies, and colorful "granny square" crochet blankets cast along a bare armrest. The hallmarks served as reference points for Lingua Franca's foray into home: a 20-pattern wallpaper collection with Wallshoppe. Our favorite print? An illustrated floral mosaic that pulls directly from the patterned walls of Hruska MacPherson's grandmother's kitchen in rural Nebraska, "which she had hand painted freehand," adds the designer. Available in 10 cheerfully retro colorways, the pattern pays its ancestral respects and is fondly dubbed Rita's Kitchen.

Guo Pei x The Rug Company

Guo Pei x The Rug Company

Celebrities and dignitaries turn to fashion designer Guo Pei for her proficiency in reimagining ancient Chinese embroidery and painting techniques. Opulent Nature, the line of seven rugs and two cushions that she has dreamed up for The Rug Company, expresses that same reverence for craftsmanship. Take the ornamental Dragon Mist, a cascade of gold, green, and pink that pays homage to the mythical creature long entrenched in Chinese culture, or Splendour, defined by a decorative blue border reminiscent of delicate needlework—both rendered in hand-knotted Tibetan wool and silk. Woven entirely in silk, Empress Gold, showcasing a regal hand-carved floral motif in a spectrum of golds, is a fitting nod to the elaborate Pei-designed gown Rihanna wore to the 2015 Met Gala.

Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent x Living Spaces

Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent x Living Spaces

For their fifth collaboration with the Western US home furnishings retailer Living Spaces, designers Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent conceived an expansive 42-piece collection primarily for the living room, dining room, and bedroom that is simultaneously elevated and comfortable. Berkus's fascination with early American and European furniture and Brent's penchant for modern simplicity are on display within the new pieces—the midcentury-meets-French moderne Brighton upholstered platform bed comes to mind. Other highlights include the launch's beautifully tactile and intriguing floor and table lamps.