Now firmly established as a must on the international design scene, the Elite Design Awards received over 180 entries from more than 30 countries this year.
The jury was chaired by Iria Degen, interior architect, joined by BIG-GAME, design studio, Laure Gremion, industrial designer, Fabien Roy, architect and product designer, and Adrien Rovero, industrial designer, together with François Pugliese, owner and CEO of Elite.
For the ninth consecutive year, Maison Elite has called upon the creativity of designers worldwide to discover tomorrow’s talents and bring bold new concepts to light. Over nine editions, the journey of the laureates has followed an inspiring ritual: their projects are brought to life in Elite’s workshops in Aubonne, unveiled at the Milan ceremony in the presence of the Swiss Consul during the height of Design Week, then introduced to the public across Elite Gallery boutiques in Switzerland and abroad.
The Theme
“Luxury Cosmopolitan Cocoon”: in a hyperconnected world where the urban pace never slows, how can the bed reclaim its role as a true sanctuary? This is the question the Elite Design Awards 2026 put to designers around the world. The Cosmopolitan Cocoon is not a retreat from the world; it is a deliberate, conscious, sophisticated refuge: an intimate space that engages with the outside world without yielding to its pressures. A theme that deeply resonates with a generation reinventing its relationship with rest, luxury and home.
The Winning Projects
1st prize Victoire Equine and Emma Landauer
Plume, designed by Victoire Equine and Emma Landauer, won over the jury with its disarming simplicity. Its headboard — two oversized cushions — seduces through its spontaneity. A subtle nod to the iconic beanbags of the 1960s, this strikingly minimalistic design is available in three colourways.
Victoire Equine and Emma Landauer are joining forces for the first time. Third-year students at Efet Créa school in Paris, the two share a defining passion: telling stories through space and objects. Drawn to the Cosmopolitan Cocoon theme, they shaped a project true to their design philosophy — curious, bold and deeply human. Plume evokes the weightlessness of sinking into a cosy bed, a genuine refuge from the heaviness of daily life.
2nd prize Mélyna Baffert
Mélyna Baffert challenges convention with Embrace. A true embodiment of the theme, this bed — its generous rounded velvet volumes wrapping almost entirely around the sleeper — creates a fluid and playful space. Somewhere between a protective nest and a childhood den built from bolsters, this gloriously instinctive creation marks a bold new direction for Maison Elite.
Mélyna Baffert is a master’s student in interior architecture in Lyon with a deep connection to craftsmanship. Her creative process is driven by material and gesture, transforming the tangible into spatial narrative. Constantly seeking to challenge conventions, she strives for a design that is “out of the ordinary”, rich in originality.
3rd prize Alicja Stańczyk
Third prize goes to Dune, Alicja Stańczyk’s witty reinterpretation of the upholstered bed. With its gathered velvet base and an oversized cushion serving as headboard, it strikes a balance between restraint and international sophistication — a design equally at home in a Stockholm loft or a Dubai villa.
For Alicja Stańczyk, a recent graduate of the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław (PL), interior architecture is above all about emotion and light. Her work is defined by a pursuit of simplicity — marrying minimalism with a rigorous selection of noble materials, always aiming to create spaces as enduring as they are timeless.
Find the website for the Elite Design Awards 2026 here:
