Stefano Seletti and IQOS unveil bold new design collaboration at Sensorium Worlds in Milan
The Italian designer brings his signature playful style to the IQOS ILUMA i series as 4,000 guests joined the launch of the IQOS x Seletti Limited-Edition Collection
By Dale Fox
Inside Milan’s vast Pirelli Hangar Bicocca this Saturday (25 October), 4,000 guests gathered to witness IQOS and Italian design house Seletti unveil Sensorium Worlds, a one-night collision of art, sound and design launching the IQOS x Seletti Limited-Edition Collection – and Attitude was there to witness it.
Stefano Seletti is known for his tongue-in-cheek approach to design, mixing pop culture, fine art and everyday objects in ways that are always memorable. His collections have turned lamps into bananas, sofas into hotdogs, and now, through this collaboration, a smoke-free device into a must-have fashion accessory.
IQOS creates smoke-free devices that heat rather than burn tobacco. While a relatively less common site in the UK, the brand is huge on the continenet – you’ll spot the distinctive devices everywhere from cafe terraces to club smoking areas. The ILUMA i series is its newest design, combining clean lines with customisable details, with the new Seletti edition pushing that aesthetic further.
As shown during the event, the cases of the IQOS ILUMA i PRIME and ILUMA i Seletti editions (available in the UK from December) come wrapped in a chic black-and-gold pattern, inspired by optical art and Italian luxury. The devices themselves come in either matt black or glossy gold. Attitude picked up the latter, and we love its resemblance to YSL’s chic Touche Éclat.
The design carries through to the packaging, with a black satin finish, metallic gold foiling and sculpted contours that recall a luxury fragrance box. As the company told Attitude at the event, the new collboration is a statement of where IQOS wants to be seen: in the world of design, not industry.
“I don’t think many people think of the tobacco industry as a particularly innovative one,” Bryson Thornton, global communications director at IQOS parent company Philip Morris International (PMI), told Attitude.
“In the past, it was filters and flip-top boxes. Now we’re collaborating with people like Stefano Seletti – that’s an entirely different stage. The richness of thought and perspective behind these collaborations is what keeps us challenging the status quo.”
The launch also marked the finale of Curious X, IQOS’s year-long global project exploring creativity as a force for change. Earlier this year, Seletti brought together 20 international designers and curators – including London’s Chet Lo – for the Curious Minds workshop at his Mantua studio. Their ideas on curiosity and reinvention shaped the visual identity of Sensorium Worlds, as vast digital sculptures featuring video versions of each designer’s vision towered over a live soundtrack by Swiss duo Adriatique.
“Design in general is an opportunity for self-expression, and that’s something that’s always been important to IQOS as a brand,” Thornton added. “The ability to tap into that richness of thought and perspective has been a driving force behind what we’ve been doing over the last 11 years – that disruption, that challenging of the status quo.”
IQOS sits at the centre of PMI’s transition toward smoke-free alternatives for adult nicotine users, and the event reflected how far the brand has evolved since launching its first device in 2014. “There are more than one billion smokers around the world, and we want them to stop smoking immediately,” Thornton said.
“Those that want to continue to use nicotine, we strongly encourage them to move to a smoke-free product as soon as possible.”
The IQOS x Seletti Limited-Edition Collection will be available to buy in the UK from December from the IQOS online store and its UK flagship on London’s Kensington High Street.