smow blog Interview: Alain Gilles - For me the benchmark is never to lose the functionality, I like to create works which have a very graphic character, but they need to work as intended and to work well

Whereas the careers of most product and furniture designers follow a very similar path and pattern over apprenticeship, internships and college, Belgian designer Alain Gilles took a "somewhat" different route: a degree in political science being followed by five years working in the Brussels' office of international finance concern J P Morgan, before, aged 32, he began to study product design. And that with a fair degree of success. Since establishing his own studio in 2007 Alain Gilles has