The iconic designer Verner Panton launches six new mood enhancing shades in Antwerp with &Tradition.

Calm elements can easily be infused with colourful design items that add warmth and a touch of humour.

by Dorothea Gundtoft

Design can transport you to new places and either calm your surroundings or excite you. We believe that as long as they provoke a positive experience, calmness does not only mean neutral colours or minimalism but can be expressed through exciting designs that support your mood.

We were invited to join &Tradition for the launch of six new shades of Verner Panton’s iconic Flower Pot in Antwerp – one of the most design-orientated cities in the world, from the famous “Antwerp six” (a famous group of fashion designers who graduated from Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts between 1980–81) to iconic architecture from Jugendstil to Gothic, upcoming galleries and exciting new eateries.

The &Tradition showroom that we visited in Antwerp displaying the iconic Flower Pot lamps in the new shades.

&Tradition is a Danish design company established in 2010 with the founding principle being tradition tied to innovation. Their unique portfolio of furniture and lighting spans from the 1920s to the present day and includes designs by internationally renowned designers. I not only admire their approach of sustaining the heritage of important designers but also their focus on producing products with a sustainable awareness where longevity is at the heart of every new launch.

In close collaboration with the Panton family, &Tradition welcomes five new, vibrant colours to the Flowerpot range for 2023. Alongside this palette refresh, the Danish design house is also reissuing a Panton original — a 1970s black and white wave pattern. Topan, the second lamp ever designed by Verner Panton, hence the name To (two) Pan, will also see three new finishes added to the collection.

Another great example of combining a splash of colour into an otherwise neutral space – resonating with the colours of the painting.

Martin Kornbek Hansen, CEO and founder of &Tradition added: “Verner Panton’s pieces are such an important part of Danish design history, and we are truly lucky to be able to offer them to design enthusiasts across the globe. By keeping their original forms unaltered and updating the colours to reflect what is culturally popular, these lamps will forever remain relevant and contemporary.”

Verner Panton’s designs originated from the desire to craft pieces that trigger feelings rather than serving solely as functional objects. First designed in 1968, Panton’s Flowerpot lamp is an enduring classic: a playful yet minimal product that remains among the most iconic works of Danish design.

“Choosing colours should not be a gamble. It should be a conscious decision. Colours have a meaning and a function,”

Panton once famously remarked, and the new colour additions have been developed with this in mind, creating a more exuberant and vibrant spectrum of choice.

After digging through the family’s personal archives, Cobalt Blue, Swim Blue, Vermillion Red, Tangy Pink and Dark Plum were chosen to reflect Verner Panton’s ethos of living with colour. In an exciting reissue of a Verner Panton original, &Tradition is also reintroducing a black and white wave-pattern finish to the collection. According to the Panton family’s archives, this retro, hypnotic-style pattern was first used in 1970.

Plum red is one of the leading choices of colour in 2023.

When questioned on the use of black and white in his designs, Marianne Panton, Verner Panton’s wife, recalls: “Verner was very fond of using the contrasting black and white in his designs and spaces. Even our first apartment – with the exception of some red Cone Chairs and other colourful art pieces – was black and white in the early days. He also made several exhibitions only in black and white.”

Crafted from a desire to create pieces that trigger emotion through the playful use of colour and material, Verner Panton's Flowerpot lamp is an enduring piece of Danish design.

Blue is personally one of my favourite hues – and that deep cobalt blue mixed with earthy/ plum tones adds balance and dept to an otherwise neutral space.

We were lucky to be in the company of Verner Panton’s daughter Carin Panton in Antwerp, who fondly looked back at her father’s enduring legacy, sharing some insider stories to the group. “Verner strongly advocated the concept of total layout, meaning the use of the same colour for the walls, floor and ceiling in a room. Of course, these new colours were chosen with Verner Panton in mind. I’m truly convinced that he would have loved the additions.”

Accompanying the Flowerpot palette additions is a new shade of Jaime Hayon's Setago - Maroon and Grape, a high, counter and bar table variant in Hee Welling's Drip, and finally, Luca Nichetto's Lato table is available in a green, Verde Alpi marble.

See the range of Flower Pot lamps on &Traditions website here.