Dream teams: the best interiors collabs out this season

Twenty years ago H&M’s collection with the fashion great Karl Lagerfeld would pave the way for a craze for collaborations that continues to this day.
The Swedish superbrand was among the first to sell high-end labels at high street prices, with limited quantities that led to elbows-out queues and sell-outs in seconds. Two decades later, the announcement of a collaboration is not just a fashion phenomenon but part and parcel of the interiors world too.
“We like to surprise our customers. We like to promote creativity and quality and also to show that good design doesn’t have to be expensive,” says Evelina Kravaev Soderberg, H&M Home’s head of design. “It’s not only for a select few that have very big wallets.”
This week marks the launch of H&M Home’s latest collab, a partnership with Coqui Coqui, run by husband-and-wife team Nicolas Malleville, from Argentina, and Francesca Bonato, born in Milan. There are three strands to the globe-trotting couple’s lifestyle brand: a small chain of boutique hotels and spas dotted across Mexico and Polynesia (where they live with their three children on Bora Bora); unisex fragrances with ingredients sourced from the surrounding area and developed in their apothecary-like perfumeria in Valladolid (on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula); and artisanal travel accessories.
Malleville (previously a landscape gardener and model for Gucci and Burberry) moved to Yucatan in 2002 and began concocting what would become the first Coqui Coqui resort and perfumeria. In 2003 he met Bonato on the beach; it was “love at first sight”.
The couple knew Soderberg well, a long-time visitor to Coqui Coqui, but were “a little scared” by the initial approach from H&M Home. Soderberg says: “We showed them our world with our production possibilities and qualities, and you [Bonato and Malleville] showed your world to us. Then we moulded.”
The result is a 26-piece collection that Malleville says represents “home away from home, exploring both of our hemispheres: the west and the east”. Multifunctionality and travel-friendliness are key “things to make a cosy home that could fit in a trunk”, Bonato adds. There’s a fringed cotton throw that’s big enough for a family to sit on (£79.99) and a generous-sized jacquard-weave beach towel (£34.99, hm.com). They also blended two bespoke scents in Grasse, Provence, using the same perfume house used by the fragrance specialists Byredo: Vétyvers du Pacifique — a combination of vetiver with grapefruit — and Flores de Yucatán, with a scent of Mayan basil and a touch of ylang ylang. Both are available in multiple formats including scented cards (£9.99, hm.com), which are ideal for slipping into a drawer or suitcase.
Another new collab crossing countries is between the eco-paintmaker Graphenstone and Kate Watson-Smyth, the writer behind the interiors blog Mad About the House. She has been renovating a 300-year-old villa in Piedmont, northwest Italy, and co-developed a palette called the Italian Collection. The 12 shades, based on those in her own home, include Gelato (a blush pink) and Barolo (wine red). Watson-Smyth has also designed a co-ordinating collection of handmade tiles for Maitland & Poate.
“I felt it was time to show eco-friendly sustainable products in strong colours. So much of what is out there feels a little beige and brown and not luxurious; [this] was a chance to show how colourful and beautiful sustainability can be,” Watson-Smyth says.
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Henry Holland, the fashion designer turned ceramicist, is a big fan of a collab done right, but warns: “Collaboration fatigue is something that can occur when there is a lack of authenticity on either side of the coin and something can look too transactional or as a cynical marketing tool for bigger brands to take advantage of smaller brands and creatives.”
For his latest foray, Holland has worked with the fabrics company Harlequin for a debut range of wallpapers and fabrics, featuring checks, florals and moire, which take their cues from his bold earthenware designs. “Since the beginning of my design career collaborations have allowed me to explore so many additional product categories to my small team’s core capabilities,” he says.
Zara Home has partnered with Collagerie, the British platform from ex-Vogue editors Lucinda Chambers and Serena Hood, for an interiors range including multicoloured cord ceiling lamps (from £149.99) and metal side tables (£129.99). “We have woven our love of colour and craft into their trademark architectural lines and neutral shades,” Chambers says. The pair’s first collab was with the Conran Shop, which Chambers says “really was like reaching for the stars. And we haven’t stopped. [Collaboration] is a great process and one which I find incredibly energising.”
The Cardiff interiors influencer Reena Simon (of @hygge_for_home) also has a few collaborations under her belt. Most recently she has co-designed a kitchen with The Main Company in her signature Scandi aesthetic (from £25,000). “There is something special about shared creativity,” Simon says. She doesn’t believe we are close to collab overdose yet, though. “It’s about quality over quantity to maintain the integrity of these creative partnerships. Collaborations allow designers like me to reach beyond our typical audience, often breaking through perceived barriers and gatekeepers in the industry.”
Tekla x ArtekThe cool Copenhagen fabrics brand Tekla has previously partnered with Jamie xx and Stussy. Its latest collab is with the Finnish furniture company Artek and celebrates the legacy of the designer Aino Aalto (one of Artek’s original co-founders in 1935). Percale cotton bedding comes in white, blue or pink in an abstract floral inspired by Aalto’s Kirsikankukka pattern. From £110 for a children’s bedding set, teklafabrics.com
Mathmos x Sabine MarcelisAfter 2023’s sell-out success of their first pairing, the Dutch multidisciplinary designer Sabine Marcelis and Mathmos, the lava lamp inventor, have paired up once more again to launch a second iteration, out in October. Sabine Marcelis Bordeaux Astro Lava Lamp for VitraHaus Loft, limited run of 1,000; £150, mathmos.com
Lick x MACThe paintmaker Lick and make-up brand MAC have just launched Black 40, a paint shade described as a “colour that everyone can have in their homes”. £45 for 2.5 litres, lick.com
Pophams x EvermoreA candle collab with London’s coolest bakery? The Pophams x Evermore hand-poured soy scented candle pairs geranium with gastronomic notes of blackcurrant, fig and honey. Geranium 145g candle, £32, evermorelondon.com
Reena Simon x Lights & LampsSimon’s first lighting range for Lights and Lamps was met with success. Collection II, which launched last month, is a range of rechargeable and portable lamps. Viola Calacatta marble and linen rechargeable table lamp, £169, lightsandlamps.com
Allday Goods x Maldon SaltThe SK4 santoku knife has a carbon steel blade and an octagonal handle made out of waste plastic from Maldon Sea Salt’s packing, the foodie’s favourite flaky salt brand. £120, alldaygoods.co.uk
LF Markey x Heal’sThis collab between Louise Markey (founder of the London slow fashion label LF Markey) and the furniture retailer Heal’s is back for its second volume this summer. Key pieces include cheerful striped cushions (£95, heals.com) and mugs in delicious shades (£12, heals.com).
String Furniture X Form Us With LoveThe Swedish shelving system String has joined forces with the Stockholm industrial design studio Form Us With Love to create a modular range of units made from perforated steel panels. Eight colours include a vivid blue, green or white. Individual modules start from £160, stringfurniture.com
Smeg x Dolce & GabbanaBlu Mediterraneo is the most recent Italian-made collection from long-time collaborators Smeg and Dolce & Gabbana, bringing a slice of la dolce vita to your kitchen countertop. Espresso machine, £1,249.95, smeguk.com