Yinka Ilori’s work centers on joy, combining influences from Nigerian heritage and London’s urban visual culture. Patterns from West African textiles and playful postmodern graphics inform vivid creations that project optimism. At Milan Design Week, he collaborated with Veuve Clicquot on “Chasing the Sun,” featuring limited-edition champagne buckets shaped like calabashes and a bottle-shaped carrying case knitted from upcycled materials using advanced 3D technology in golden yellow. Travel experiences shaped his mission to nurture and harvest joy through community and celebration. Early trips to Nigeria helped him understand his parents’ stories and the joy offered by people with little. Traveling alone also enabled him to explore beaches and visit textile weavers.
"My parents have always told me stories about growing up in Nigeria, and when I first traveled there as a kid, it finally made sense to me what made them the way they are. I fell in love with the community and the energy that I got from the people there - some of them who had so little, and joy is the biggest thing they have and have to offer. It's fed my work with ideas of chasing joy and community, of celebrating each other. I'd say my mission is nurturing and harvesting joy - using those seeds of joy that were given to me by my parents to plant them in my work and in my practice."
"At Milan Design Week, Ilori debuted a collaboration with Veuve Clicquot entitled 'Chasing the Sun,' with limited-edition champagne buckets shaped like a calabash, and a bottle-shaped carrying case knitted with upcycled materials using advanced 3D technology, all blazing in the brand's signature golden yellow."
"The W Hotel in Barcelona was the first hotel that wowed me. My room had floor-to-ceiling win"
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