Chris Bangle
Chris Bangle (born 1956), former BMW Chief of Design (1992-2009), now runs Chris Bangle Associates in Northern Italy. His studio of 10 people works on luxury yachts, product design, and sustainable 'Second Existence' concepts exploring product afterlife and circular design.
From Automotive Icon to Yacht Design
Chris Bangle (born 1956) is an American automotive designer who served as BMW's Chief of Design from 1992 to 2009, reshaping the brand's aesthetic identity. He now runs Chris Bangle Associates in Northern Italy, a 10-person consultancy working across transportation, product design, and increasingly, luxury yachts .
Design Philosophy: Second Existence
Bangle has developed a sustainable design philosophy called 'Second Existence,' which considers a product's afterlife from the initial design stage. He advocates designing products to be disassembled and upcycled into new generations of products, creating meaningful employment through labor-intensive but environmentally responsible processes .
Yacht Design and Broader Work
Beyond yachts, Bangle's studio works on product design, management workshops on creativity and brand design, and even children's animation projects exploring narrative creation applicable to real-world issues. His multidisciplinary approach brings automotive design rigour and conceptual depth to every project .
