Designer Takes

6 Designer-Approved Spotify Playlists

We asked creatives to share the songs that are inspiring them right now
An illustration depicting designers' favorite playlists
Lizzie Soufleris

Goodtime Hotel’s Pharrell Williams and David Grutman aren’t the only creatives whose designs are inspired by positive vibes. Music moves all of our bodies and souls. With that in mind, we asked some design talents to share the songs that they currently have on repeat in public playlists that you can enjoy, too.

Below you will find top designers’ custom Spotify playlists, ranging from cool jazz and timeless classical to ’70s German electronic house and music from Mali.

Charlotte Moss’s Les Femmes Formidables Playlist

No stranger to playlists, interior designer Charlotte Moss is a master mix-maker. Moss comments, “I love music that just seems to get into your bones, makes you want to move, and sing along. I created this playlist to work to, collage to, garden with. They are all upbeat tunes by women, hence, “Les Femmes Formidables.” Who could sit still when Aretha, Cher, Leona Lewis, Mariah Carey, and Bette Midler fill the air? Not me!”

Sofie Christensen Egelund’s VIPP (Very Inspired Perfect Playlist)

It is clear that Sofie Christensen Egelund, Vipp’s owner and concept director, is truly inspired. Along with the May launch of the new Vipp Studio (a live/work space and showroom in New York) and the upcoming launch of the V2 kitchen (the Danish brand’s first new kitchen design in a decade), we now have Vipp’s very own V.I.P.P.—very inspired perfect playlist.

Egelund’s current grooves swing between seriously smooth jazz and classical sophistication with a side of Queen and Fiona Apple. She also recommends the jazz radio on Pandora, which, she says, “was introduced to me by the late editor Bill Menking when we visited him for a very memorable Sunday roast at his home.”

Berlin Beats From White Arrow’s Keren Richter

Cofounder of the interiors studio White Arrow, Keren Richter met her partner in life and work, Thomas, in Berlin. Back in the city for a design project, the duo dove into Art Deco detailing for a historic home project, which is the inspiration behind this funky song list.

Richter’s enthusiasm for her 15-song playlist overflowed (when asked to select only 10 songs, she replied, “How can I only choose 10?”). The resulting collection highlights an eclectic mix of ’70s electronic German tunes, ’90s house music, and contemporary techno/house

Andrew Bowen’s Studio 54 Industrial Renovation Playlist

Andrew Bowen, partner and head of staging for ASH NYC, created a playlist inspired by a model apartment he designed for the industrial Brooklyn building Glassworks.

Of the project, Bowen explains, “With so much design emphasis on warmth, color, and wood the past few years, I thought it would be interesting to test out a concept that was the exact opposite: Let’s make something that’s freezing cold, colorless, and nearly devoid of any obvious natural materials. We incorporated pieces by Mario Botta, Willy Rizzo, and others who were creating these icons at the same time that Studio 54 was having its heyday. Highly reflective metals adorn nearly every corner of the home, situated amongst razor-sharp edges and a collection of rigid geometric forms. The only thing missing, oddly enough, is a disco ball.”

Bowen’s complementary playlist dives into the ’70s and ’80s. “I think the most talented composer and artist of that era was Patrick Cowley, a relatively unknown gay-club-scene icon who was unfortunately a very early victim of AIDS,” he says.

François Leininger’s Refugee Housing Project Playlist

Formerly of Post-Offices Architectes, architect François Leininger is now working with the French nonprofit Fonds de Donation Merci to design innovative permanent housing solutions for legal refugees in France.

As part of the Village Horizon project, Leininger explains, “We are developing an ‘urban village,’ a multi-housing program that would work like a mini-village within the city, where refugees and nonrefugees would live, where businesses would settle and employ residents, and where restaurants would attract visitors.”

Leininger’s “Village Horizon” playlist is like a trip around the globe. With music from Africa, France, the Balkans, Brazil, and more, it’s a fitting accompaniment to a global-minded project.

Ralph Pucci’s Jazz in My Veins Playlist

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Ralph Pucci’s creative collections always impress with superior craftsmanship and attention to detail. Similarly, the brand’s 15 custom Spotify jazz playlists achieve those same high standards.

Pucci himself comments, “Jazz is not background music at Ralph Pucci, it is the soundtrack, it is part of our soul, essence, and vision. Jazz is timeless; it is the freedom to explore, which are two key ingredients to the experience of Ralph Pucci. I have curated our Spotify playlists around the ‘golden’ era of Jazz, the 1940s–1960s: Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and Coleman Hawkins, continuing to Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, Chet Baker.”

He adds, “When the new generation of designers enter the Ralph Pucci world, they are greeted with the exploratory sounds of jazz, and hopefully this will open their eyes and ears to an elegant experience.”

The hours upon hours of jazz playlists will make you long to lounge on the insanely cool Dune sofa by Pierre Paulin while listening.