Patricia Urquiola has designed for Kartell. Design on her own terms

·17 August 2026

For over two decades, Patricia Urquiola has been shaping the language of contemporary design, remaining one of the best-known and most influential designers. The Spanish designer collaborates with leading brands, and her designs feature in the collections of prestigious museums and design galleries, such as New York’s MoMA, the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris, the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. For Kartell, she has created collections that have already become iconic and are now among the most distinctive elements of the brand’s portfolio.

Patricia Urquiola’s style has defied clear-cut categorisation for years. Described as unconventional, expressive and yet elegant, it combines experimentation with materials with a unique sensitivity to form. Her designs, created for the world’s leading brands, have gained international recognition thanks to their skilful balance between functionality and aesthetics. The AALAND collection for the Italian firm Kartell was inspired by the landscape of the archipelago. The soft, organic forms of the sofas, armchairs and pouffes resemble islands, opening up to various scenarios in the lives of the household’s inhabitants. The collection is complemented by AALAND rugs, distinguished by a pattern of organic forms, linked by a graphic detail reminiscent of stitching. Also catching the eye are the coffee tables and planters from the accompanying Corteza collection, whose grooved surfaces – inspired by the texture of tree bark – subtly evoke the natural world.

Thanks to its collaboration with Patricia Urquiola, Kartell has also expanded its range to include side tables and planters from the CORTEZA collection, which complete the entire series. They are made from recycled materials, and their distinctive grooves, inspired by the plant world, give the series an appearance reminiscent of natural tree bark. The collection comprises a side table, a coffee table and two planters. “My collaboration with Kartell allows me to realise bold and expressive design solutions, achievable only thanks to extremely advanced moulding technologies, and to make them available to a wide audience,” says Patricia Urquiola.

Her approach is also evident in the LEPID collection, which combines simple forms with a distinctive design. The system comprises bookcases, shelves and sideboards with distinctive profiles that create graphic compositions. The intertwining lines and contrasting edges give the furniture a very modern character. The collection is made from recycled wood-fibre panels, available in ivory, burgundy and mustard. The visible contrast between the surfaces and the profiles emphasises the unique appearance of each piece. UNDIQUE MAS, on the other hand, features round, postmodern table designs which have gained fuller proportions and softer lines, emphasising their sculptural character. Thanks to the varied heights and sizes of the table tops, the tables can be freely combined to create arrangements suited to different uses.

The icing on the cake is the Jellies collection, one of Patricia Urquiola’s most recognisable designs for Kartell. The range includes vases, platters, tableware and decorative wall hangers, featuring distinctive, organic textures reminiscent of moulds for jellies and confectionery. Thanks to the plastic texturing technology, the surfaces gain exceptional depth and subtly refract light, giving the objects a lightness reminiscent of glass. Available in various sizes and delicate colours, they demonstrate that even everyday accessories can become sophisticated interior décor.

In Patricia Urquiola’s designs for Kartell, nature is never a literal source of inspiration, but rather a way of thinking about space. Soft contours, light caught in the texture of the material, and forms that seem to emerge organically create interiors that lend themselves to everyday rituals. It is design that does not need to demand attention. It remains present, like a well-designed home, gradually becoming a natural part of life.

Further information: www.kartellwarsaw.pl