Wyborowa Packaging by Frank Gehry

During the press conference organised by arena design hosts, Karim Rashid and the fair organisers discussed the possibilities od developing the design industry in Poland. One of the aspects they discussed was the fact, that there is virtually no Polish brand recognized widely in the world. How can that be in a country of almost 40 milion people? The only brand that pops in mind when you think of Poland is the Wyborowa vodka, even though it does not belong to a Polish company anymore (now owned by French company Pernod Ricard).

Wyborowa is part of the super premium vodka market, which is a strategy the producers took to introduce new alcohol into the american market, already filled with a wide selection of vodkas from Russia. That actually seems strange and surprising to the Poles, as Wyborowa is not the most expensive vodka in Poland, nor it is the best one. Anyways, it is also one of few Polish brands that decided to invest in design. Their latest realese - Wyborowa Exquisite - comes in a bottle designed by Frank Gehry himself. As much as I admire the design, I am a little sad that Poland is only recognized for that one brand.

The Wyborowa Single Estate bottle was conceived by Frank Gehry, one of our greatest living architects and famous for outstanding structures such as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Frank Gehry is of Polish descent and for this reason was the only designer considered for this project.The bottle design conveys a fusion of the Polish heritage & contemporary sophistication and mirrors the beauty and exquisite quality of Wyborowa Single Estate. (polandforall)