John Lewis hires new design director

John Lewis has appointed Charlotta Elgh as its first director of design for home.

The retailer revealed a shift in the design direction for home and Elgh will be spearheading this move with her spring collection.

This will include moving away from multiple trends to introduce a new, “pared back interior rulebook” with two trends.

John Lewis said its home trends have been halved and simplified into “modern and classic” expressions, each will offer customers furniture and accessories for their home and garden that will be affordable, achievable and unique in style.

Elgh has been responsible for developing over 1000 textile products for the global market and has also founded an award-winning advertising agency.

She also worked for 14 years with IKEA until 2020 where her most recent role was development leader IKEA concept.

Elgh said: “I am thrilled to join John Lewis and be part of such an iconic British brand. My vision for home is simple, I want to make it easy for customers to shop with us and identify their own style; whilst also ensuring we design for a number of different price points.

“Starting with spring we are moving forwards with two distinct trends that highlight and champion our heritage. My vision for every home product we sell, is that each
and every design that comes from my team is iconically John Lewis – the attention to design details, the quality and the timeless style – means it is undeniably part of our range.”

She added: “I want to simplify the interiors for our customers – making it stylish, accessible, functional and easy to shop. I think about it like a recipe card, for example when it comes to soft furnishings you start with a plain colour, layer on stripes and add in a graphic. I want to give our customers confidence to make these choices and discover their own unique style.”