I talked previously about the growing cultural synergy between art and design  — with the place of the artist starting to be taken by designers whose purpose driven approach seemingly makes them more relevant and directional in our world today. Fashion Design has, of course, always been a cultural compass to steer brand and package design developments in certain sectors such as beauty. But, now, we are witnessing — not just many more fashion design and brand collaborations but — the tables starting to turn with brand and packaging design per se potentially steering new and different directions for fashion.

It’s true, the recent popularity for brand and designer collborations is morphing specifically into brand and fashion designer collaborations. And, before we move forward, I feel that we have to mention the new collaboration hitting the design news this week with Coca-Cola Light and Karl Lagerfeld.

Whilst I totally admire the continuing design evolution of one of the world’s most iconic brands, personally, I am not a big fan of this new design. I would suggest that the main man’s silhouette and signature just pays homage to an ego – and a tenuous high fashion association — rather than conveying a premium and exclusive offer to women or building brand empathy in the creative way that brand Coke has done with, for example, its seasonal editions. These collaborations are usually limited editions or just a ‘forced’ partnership to maximise a short-term, collectable opportunity.

But, it is the news of another new launch this week – Puma’s ‘clever little bag’ — that has really caused ripples amongst the design and brand community as it moves the power of design into a whole new cultural dimension.

Designed by Yves Behar of Fuseproject in the US, the press release states: “For the last 21 months we have been thinking about shoeboxes: how to fold them, how to ship them and how to reduce them. In the end, we decided to get rid of them altogether because along the way we discovered a new design solution….a “clever little bag”.

The release continues, “By providing structure to a cardboard sheet, the bag uses 65% less cardboard than the standard shoe box, has no laminated printing, no tissue paper, takes up less space and weighs less in shipping, and replaces the plastic retail bag…our bag will reduce water, energy and diesel consumption on the manufacturing level alone by more than 60% per year”. No-one can deny that this is a huge impact for such a little – but very clever – bag.

The crux here is that it’s not just a fashion statement – with its usual trend-led and short-term connotations – but a new and brilliant holistic design solution and statement for the future that ticks all the boxes in terms of desirability, sustainability… And, one, which like all covetable fashion/design classics will, I’m sure, be much emulated and copied. With this launch Puma is not just cementing its position as a leading sports lifestyle brand but setting a new benchmark, and leading the way, for design and fashion evolution.

And, although slightly leftfield, and taking us from the mass market to the very niche, I couldn’t finish without a mention of Kotik Design’s ‘jewellery made from packaging’ — www.shop.kotik-design.com . A design graduate from Jerusalem, Yoav Kotik uses mainly beverage caps and scrap metals from different places and cultures and moulds them to create unique pieces of ‘precious metals’ jewellery – connecting their past life with a new and fresh experience. Recycling package design into fashion design and accessories. This is not a new idea (the people of the South African townships have been making creative use of packaging materials for years) but taking it to a higher form is an interesting evolution that forces reappraisal of undesirable waste material —  something high fashion is often accused of not paying enough attention to.

There is a very real possibility to now infiltrate – and influence — the holy grail of fashion as we accept the challenge to move from being dedicated followers of fashion to dedicated designers of fashion.

Jonathan Ford, Creative Partner Pearlfisher