Italian architect and designer Alessandro Mendini played a leading role in the renewal of Italian design in the 1980s. Known for the simplicity, elegance, and balance of his design and architectural work, he is also distinguished by his deft mixing of elements from different cultures and media. He works in furniture, graphics, interior design, painting and architecture. An honorary member of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem and the Architectural League of New York, Mendini was also named “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” in France. Mendini’s work for Swatch evokes the breezy, maritime, sun-on-skin feeling of lounging at the beach—even when his design is of a cityscape. Rendered in sugar-frosting pinks and purples, sprinkled with beach-umbrella reds and yellows, and generally favouring a palette of tropical blue-greens and pastels. Miami? The Riviera? Either way, it feels amazing.