Verallia has named the winner of the grand finale of its design competition, Verallia Design Awards.

Aura Ramos, Deniz Dönmez and Rohit Sahas Rabudhe, three students from the Italian edition of the constest, were selected for their project DeFiasco, a bottle for the wine market.

In 2017, Verallia Design Awards were held in seven countries: Germany, Brazil, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal and Ukraine.

Almost 1,000 art or design school students and recent graduates designed a glass container based on a given theme.

The participants were provided with support from the Verallia teams, in particular to provide them with details about glass and its manufacturing requirements.

Some designs have even been selected for commercial release. Such was the case of the Soirée à Rosé bottle (designed by the winner of the first competition in 2010), marketed and sold by Gérard Betrand, and the Serac bottle (winner in 2016), selected by Maison du sud – Jeanjean. These two products have enjoyed international success.

As the number of young designers presenting a project has increased each year and as customers are keen to explore new ideas, Verallia decided to open up its competition at an international level and prepare this first grand finale.

The competitors are all winners of the various national competitions.

Italy’s project De Fiasco was singled out by the jury meeting in Paris whose members include seven finalists, customers, professional designers, journalists and Verallia’s sales and marketing teams.

Drawing its inspiration from a typically Italian flask-shaped bottle, De Fiasco is a new interpretation of an old bottle which at the time combined various materials (straw, laces and glass), to provide a 100% glass modern version. The original bottle finishing using straw and laces has been replaced with external engraving.

“With the Verallia Design Awards, we are encouraging a privileged exchange with young designers around glass. We are also providing our customers with an unprecedented innovation approach, as reflected in the various sales success stories since the competition was introduced,” said Michel Giannuzzi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Verallia Group at the ceremony.