Yinka Ilori collaborates with Veuve Clicquot on 'Chasing the Sun' collection for Milan Design Week 2026

British-Nigerian designer Yinka Ilori MBE has partnered with champagne house Veuve Clicquot to create 'Chasing the Sun', a limited-edition collection of drinks accessories. The collaboration will debut at Milan Design Week 2026, running from 21-26 April at Mediateca Santa Teresa in Milan. Ilori's designs draw inspiration from his Nigerian heritage, incorporating motifs like hands cradling the sun and forms inspired by the calabash fruit, traditionally used as a drinking vessel across West Africa. The collection includes a champagne bucket, cooler, bottle stopper, grape-material charms, and a reimagined Clicquot Arrow gift box shaped as a road sign showing distances from destinations to the maison's cellars in Reims. Materials feature upcycled elements and 3D knitting technology, which Ilori values for giving textiles sculptural qualities. The designer describes his approach as 'giving form to joy', translating emotions of happiness and optimism into tangible objects through a process of inward reflection. Veuve Clicquot's signature yellow branding, dating to the 19th century, provided a natural connection point for Ilori, who sees color as central to his work. The installation at Milan Design Week aims to create a space of warmth and calm amidst the event's intensity, encouraging visitors to slow down and connect. Ilori hopes the pieces will help people 'find their own sun' both individually and within community contexts.