When we look at design, versatility is key for us, so we're rather alert to designers branching out from the product world into untapped territory.
Marc Newson designing a gun for Beretta is one of the better executed, if unexpected, collaborations of the year, reaffirming both the designer's creative flexibility and the Italian gunmaker's ability to adapt to modernity while maintaining its 500-year identity.
The new '486 Parallelo' is a contemporary update of a traditional side-by-side hunting shotgun, with a new walnut bridge making the design and user experience more seamless than ever. It is certainly an elite item few will appreciate – least of all the subtle but revolutionary design of the safety catch, which makes Newson's design unique and groundbreaking in its simplicity. Recently unveiled in London, the firearm made its debut alongside a short film by Ancarani Studio, 'Human Technology', celebrating the genesis of a Beretta shotgun.
As with every Beretta firearm, the 486 includes an intricate engraving, inspired by Japanese scrollmakers. Newson, who wanted to pay tribute to hunts in the Scottish highlands with this shotgun, uses his engraving to explain how pheasants were introduced into Europe from the Far East.
Although gunmaking might sound like a bold departure from his now-iconic product design, Newson says he is most enthusiastic when he immersed in a variety of disciplines, fields and industries. 'I am interested in the way things work - it's a technical obsession,' he says, adding that his versatility has found him recently in the luxury fashion world, designing a piece for Louis Vuitton's Iconoclasts collection, and collaborating earlier this year with tech giant Apple as part of Jonathan Ive's design team.
The '486 Parallelo' is a contemporary update of a traditional side-by-side hunting shotgun, with a new walnut bridge and guard fixing
The designer eliminated the welding lines in the barrel and gave it a refined finish
Newson's working sketch of the shotgun, which pays tribute to hunts in the Scottish highlands
The designer engraves his signature on the 486 during the launch in London
The gun includes an intricate engraving, inspired by Japanese scrollmakers
Newson also gave it a new opening lever and a subtle but revolutionary makeover of the safety catch
ADDRESS
Beretta Gallery
36 St James's St
London SW1A 1JD
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Simon Mills in conversation with designer Marc Newson and Montblanc creative director Zaim Kamal -
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Wallpaper* Power 200: the world’s top design names and influencersIt’s back with a double helping of provocation and praise. We have plumped up this year’s Power List to a meaty two-ton’s worth of carefully measured rankings, an upscaled calibration of design achievement. As we strongly suspected, last year’s Power 100 caused a considerable stir and provoked strong words. And, as last month’s editor’s letter made clear, even alarming threats of revenge and recrimination. So this year, unchastened, we thought we would do it all again, but double the dose. To mark our 200th issue, the power 100 has become 200. Or rather 100+100 (normal disservice will be resumed next year). And, in a self-congratulatory nod to our keen eye for talent and perhaps the propulsive effect we have had on nascent design careers, we have trawled the Wallpaper* archives, retraced our expert truffling and recovered the debut appearances of future Power Listers. (Look out for long-lost hair, unlined faces and eyes undimmed).
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Marc Newson designs Hermès’ first ever pen
