For the fourth and final time, Royal Delft’s hand-painted trophies will stand on the podium of the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix, and this year’s edition carries an extra spark designed by FashionTech pioneer Anouk Wipprecht and artist-producer Don Diablo.
Photo Credit : Royal Delft
Where Craft Meets Circuitry
Wipprecht designed both the winner’s trophy and the constructor’s trophy, fusing Royal Delft’s centuries-old ceramic techniques with technology more commonly associated with wearable tech and interactive fashion rather than porcelain, embedding a specially developed electroluminescent material into the lion and the number on each trophy.
In her own words, Wipprecht wanted the trophies to move beyond pure decoration: for her, technology earns its place on an object when it gives that object a new kind of expression, and here she used it to translate the energy of Formula 1 into light.
A Familiar Face to the Maker Community
At Make: we have been fortunate to be sitting in the Anouk grandstand for over a decade and while the Royal Delft trophy seems like a hairpin turn from her Fashion Tech and Robotic Couture we are familiar with, it is a wonderful example of working technology and skills into a new medium blending traditional craft and artistry with cutting edge technology.
A Fitting Send-Off
The winner’s trophy will be presented by King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands on Sunday, August 23, 2026, on the Zandvoort podium. More details and the full release can be read here.
It Would Not Be Anouk without a Dress
Did you really think Anouk would not take this opportunity to engineer a dress to compliment the Cup? Why watch a race when you can watch it and wear it?
Anouk Wipprecht is an internationally known designer working at the intersection of fashion, technology, and engineering; more on her work is available at anoukwipprecht.nl, and her project history can be found on Make:.
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