Milan, Italy
“I think working on a ‘finished’ object like a toothbrush is a little akin to designing a pencil: it’s almost impossible to design a new one, but we tried,” Italian designer Piero Lissoni.
Piero Lissoni and Regenerate Enamel Science at Unilever joined forces to create the state-of-the-art toothbrush, the ultimate combination of substance and style for a product you cannot begin your day without.
Developed by the Enamel Science experts, the Regenerate Toothbrush has 5904 ultra-thin, ultra-soft filaments for advanced enamel care.
Regenerate Toothbrush is made in Italy with antibacterial filaments and regenerated plastic.
Formed out of a coalition between the design expertise and sensibilities of Piero Lissoni’s globally renowned practice, Lissoni & Partners, and the material expertise of Regenerate Enamel Sciences, the toothbrush is the brand’s maiden product in this realm and scale.
Regenerate adopts the “minimalistic and timeless” design philosophy of Lissoni, who insisted on deconstructing the typical structure of a toothbrush to understand the essentiality of building one.
“The first thing we did was to strip it down to the pure and essential nature of its function, taking away everything that was superfluous, any excess of ergonomics, design and material,” continues Lissoni.
“We sought to design the toothbrush by taking advantage of its functional simplicity wherein, paradoxically, also lies its beauty.”
“This is essentially the project code, all infused with the fact that it is made from recycled plastic and can itself become yet another object at the end of its life.”
“In addition, Unilever gave us the opportunity to realize the product image and graphics too, and thus it became an all-round project, something we are particularly skilled at.”
In a remarkable age wherein products gleefully bear the sustainability tag, and a world that only recently seems to have been jolted out of its stupor of the unsustainability of something as small as a toothbrush, any innovation is welcomed.
For a fact, the world discards around 600 million kilograms of plastic from toothbrushes alone, comprising polypropylene and nylon as its primary constituents.
While bamboo toothbrushes are a viable, eco-friendly innovation and a welcome move in this arena, Regenerate succeeds in adding an appealing, aesthetic angle to the design process: the advantage of a designer’s hand.
Project: The Regenerate Toothbrush
Designers: Lissoni & Partners
Manufacturer: Regenerate Enamel Science/Unilever
Photographer: Tom Vack
