Visionary designers from the world’s leading fashion, watch, automotive, and yacht companies share their creative inspirations and journeys. In this installment, we speak to Marek Reichman, Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer at Aston Martin
There is poetic serendipity in the fact that the man behind some of the modern automotive world’s most beautiful machines began life amid the clang of metal and the sparks of craftsmanship. “My father was a blacksmith; that’s where I picked up my artistic skills. I realised that design surrounds us, whether through tradition or craft,” says Marek Reichman.
Since joining Aston Martin Lagonda two decades ago, Reichman has overseen a portfolio that reads like an enthusiast’s dream: the elegantly menacing DBS, the audaciously sculpted One-77, the Vulcan track machine, and, more recently, the hypercar trilogy of Valkyrie, Valhalla, and now Vantage. His influence extends beyond Aston Martin, leaving its mark on names such as Rolls-Royce, Lincoln, and BMW, where form and function meet with expressive intensity.
For Reichman, a car must do more than simply perform; it must seduce. “The aesthetic language of design is the most important,” he says. “It gives meaning to shape, form, and value, and entices you to discover more.”
Walk us through your journey in design.
I suppose it began when I was around 14 or 15. I became fascinated by the act of making—by craft. My father was a blacksmith, so I saw firsthand how someone could shape a useful object from what looked like just a raw chunk of steel. That stayed with me.
Growing up in Sheffield, a city famous for its steel and cutlery, I often cycled to David Mellor Studio in Hathersage. Mellor was an industrial designer and cutler, and at his studio, I witnessed something magical: people sketching something—a knife, a fork, a pepper mill—and then someone else would craft it by hand. That direct link between idea and object deeply inspired me. I thought, this is what I want to do.
How would you describe your design philosophy?
My design philosophy is rooted in the beauty of proportion and in creating the kind of elemental balance that makes someone stop for a second glance. Proportion is fundamental. That’s what gives a design its presence, its stance, its drama. Look at the Vanquish; it’s beautifully proportioned, but it also has this subtle aggression to it. The Valkyrie, on the other hand, is proportionally extreme but still coherent.
What makes a design timeless?
For me, it’s all about that ‘wow’ moment. The memory of seeing something beautiful–its shape, proportion, sound, materiality–that’s what endures. Technology evolves. Materials evolve. But the emotional impact of beauty stays with you. That becomes timeless.
How do you balance form and function in high- performance vehicles?
That’s the magic of great design, when performance and beauty coexist in a single expression. With something like the Valkyrie or Valhalla, the design brief is simple: pure performance. These are machines engineered to thrill and dominate on the circuit. Yet, people still come up and say, “It’s beautiful.” And that’s what I love.
When you push the boundaries of performance, you’re forced to innovate and innovation opens new creative doors. With the Valkyrie, even the negative space is part of the design language. The absence of material is just as significant as its presence. That kind of tension, between aerodynamic function and visual allure, is what makes the design resonate.
Is there a project that best encapsulates your signature design language?
Right now, I’d say it’s the Valhalla. When Fernando Alonso, who lives and breathes Formula One, saw it fully realised for the first time in Monaco, the look on his face said everything. That emotional response is what defines success for me.
