In keeping with the 2021 theme, “packaging tells a story”, four young designers dreamed up novel packaging solutions for French luxury packaging specialist Gainerie 91’s annual design contest. We take a visual journey of this year’s winners, whose projects span both fragrance and spirits.
First prize: Paper Pebbles by Guillaume Brissot, Ecole de Condé Lyon
A simple white box encloses a women’s fragrance. The originality lies in the material inside: rolled paper rings blend aesthetic and protective functions.
Second place: Kabuki by Cathelle Dénoue & Romane Gaultier, Ecole de Design Nantes Atlantique
Inspired by Japanese shojis, or paper panels, this monochrome 100% paper box with paperboard base, conceived to hold a fragrance bottle, doubles as a merchandising display. Its cut and perforated panels are made of blotter paper, which allow the pack to be perfumed with the fragrance.
Third place: Message in a Bottle by Benoît Charrière, Ecole de Design Nantes Atlantique
In line with the name of the project, the bottle inside the coffret/merchandising display comes equipped with a message rolled inside a stainless-steel cigar case. The case pops to the surface when the bottle is opened. A sandy motif was obtained on both the coffret’s base and on the display via machined wooden surfaces onto which sand is glued.
People’s Choice Award: ParcheVin by Raphaël Coustre-Mianne, Ecole d'Architecture de la Ville & des Territoires Paris-Est
A simple octagonal shape defines this wine coffret featuring an accordion-type design. The coffret closes with two simple snap-button leather lanyards.
Trophy: Studio Noir Vif
With its form meant to evoke both a pen and a plioir, a leatherworking tool, this year’s trophy, in gold, silver, bronze and matte pink versions, comes enclosed in a leather-lined coffret crafted in Gainerie 91’s French workshop.
