London Design Medal for Newson

The pioneering designer, known for pieces such as his 1986 Lockheed Lounge, was awarded the honour with a Pentagram-designed medal at a VIP gala dinner, hosted by auction house Phillips de Pury & Company in London last night.

Newson was selected by a panel of leading design figures under LDF chairman Sir John Sorrell, for his ‘significant contribution’ to the design industry in London and beyond.

Festival director Ben Evans commented that Newson’s designs have the unique ability to reach out into every area of modern life, and his versatility is ‘an inspiration to us all’.

Inspired by a ‘Utopian’ vision of the future, Newson has designed products from retro-futuristic furniture to Ford cars and Samsonite luggage, as well as the new Qantas A380 ‘superjumbo’ jet.

The versatile designer is also known for his record-breaking auctions of ‘design-art’ sculptural furniture, in particular the Lockheed Lounge chaise longue – one of which is owned by Madonna – which fetched $1 515 713 (£832 000) at Christie’s last year.

Last year’s London Design Medal winner was architect Zaha Hadid, who won the inaugural Design Medal following her creation of the futuristic Size + Matter installation Urban Nebula on London’s South Bank.