As Design Director of David Collins Studio, Lewis has led the design and delivery of the Studio’s hospitality and retail projects including the Alexander McQueen and Jimmy Choo worldwide store roll-outs, projects for Harrods, David Morris, McQ, Louis Leeman, Pret A Manger and de Grisogono and most recently the 376 key hotel Le Meridien in Seoul. He works closely with Creative Director Simon Rawlings, ensuring that Simon’s creative vision is realised and overseeing each element of the design and delivery process at a senior level.

Since joining David Collins Studio in 2008, Lewis has tackled an increasingly global scope of projects. “The Alexander McQueen store roll-out was one of the most memorable,” he says. “Each of the 50 stores channels the same design concept – the signature element being a large-scale carved wax panel – yet each is unique. The New York store has double-height ceilings, Tokyo is edgier, while some of the stores were created on much smaller budgets while maintaining the core aesthetic elements. It was both creatively challenging and extremely rewarding.”

Lewis has a particular passion for the FF&E aspect of his work, having started out as a furniture designer – a passion for beautifully made furnishings instilled from an early age with visits to his grandfather’s antique shop. He studied for his BA in Product & Furniture Design at De Montford University and while showing his graduation work at New Designers, was invited to bring in his portfolio by a member of the David Collins Studio team. He was immediately offered a job and started on a part-time basis while studying for his Masters in Design Products at the Royal College of Art (under Ron Arad, in his valedictory year as professor). Lewis eventually joined The Studio full-time in 2006, working closely with David Collins on a variety of projects.

“What David taught me was always to put myself in the customer’s shoes,” he says. “To painstakingly consider every aspect of the user journey. When you’re entering a restaurant, what is the first thing you see, the first thing you touch? When you’re entering a hotel room, is there somewhere to leave your keys and hang your coat? It’s easy to lose sight of the practical requirements of a space when you’re in the midst of the design process, but that is one of the major strengths of David Collins Studio – we’re always acutely aware that a space has to work operationally as well as aesthetically.”

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