American Express Reveals New Centurion Black Card Designs

The most exclusive credit card in the world gets a special update this year with three novel designs featuring wearable tech and Art Cards in collaboration with architect Rem Koolhaas and artist Kehinde Wiley.

Rem Koolhaas is a Pritzker Architecture Prize winner, the founder of OMA Design Group, and is seen by many as one of the most significant architects and urbanists of his generation. Koolhaas’ most notable pupils include the great Zaha Hadid. After discussing various options, AMEX and Koolhaas quickly chose the architect’s Boompjes project for the Rem Koolhaas x Centurion Art Card. The project was created as a high-profile commission to redevelop a district in Rotterdam, Netherlands which was decimated by bombings during the second world war. The silk-screen drawings for the project embodied a “vision for better living” and paid homage to OMA which was founded in Rotterdam in 1980 besides the unbuilt Boompjes plot. The unfinished project has now found closure on the new Centurion card. “This was a groundbreaking project for myself and for OMA, and it was exciting to dive back into it and capture its dynamics in the new design for the Centurion Card,” Koolhaas commented.

Kehinde Wiley is an American portrait painter based out of New York City who was chosen to paint the official portrait of former U.S president Barack Obama. The Kehinde Wiley x Centurion Art Card incorporates botanical motifs from the artist’s painting of Princess Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, which is part of his famous An Economy of Grace series dedicated to celebrating African-American women. The portraits feature custom-made couture gowns designed by Riccardo Tisci who was with Givenchy at the time. “An important part of my work is the decorative, organic background of the person being portrayed. The design on the Centurion Card stems from my interest in botanical elements and is a reference to my signature style,” explains Wiley.

The final option includes unisex Prada Centurion wrist wear. The leather piece is made of scratch-resistant black saffiàno leather and includes a hidden payment chip.

In other design-related news, THE NORTH FACE STANDARD releases new exclusive record bags.