Holger Hampf on How MINI’s Collaborations Work and What Brand Might be Next

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MINI has been partnering with brands for years. But how those brands are chosen and how the partnership shows up in special editions and other products has been a bit of a mystery. Recently we had a chance to sit down with Head of MINI Design Holger Hampf and discuss these collaborations and reflect on what’s recently been released and what might be coming.

The two tests for any MINI collaboration

First off we wanted to get a sense of how MINI chooses partners, and his answer was a two-part filter. The first test is personal.

“Number one is the chemistry between the partners.” The second is about the customer. A collaboration has to mean something to the person buying the car, not just to the marketing team. Customers see this collaboration as meaningful, and it’s not only for business purposes, or to shout out, or to promote something. To me this is still a vehicle that people buy and they drive.” 

Paul Smith passes both tests. Hampf described a relationship that goes back a long way, one that is “almost like a friendship“, with the designer sending him witty text messages and arriving with new ideas. He said the design process had little friction, and that the mutual respect shows up in the finished car.

On whether the partnership continues, he was warm and careful. He hopes and expects it will, but would not say what form it might take. The Paul Smith edition has only just reached some markets, and he is proud that it is a fully fledged production offering, not a one-off.

A short list, kept short

The discussion went into how the Paul Smith car feels like a true joint effort vs many collaborations in the wider industry that feel like a label added to a product. There was a sense of agreement from Hampf but naturally he didn’t name names. What he did say is that MINI’s approach takes time.

“Collaborations are not an easy one. We take our time to find the right partners. It’s a very short list.” When asked whether he keeps a wish list, he said yes, but not a long one.

A US partner is on the table

One thread stood out. Hampf said he has been talking with colleagues about the possibility of a US-based company as a partner, which makes sense for a brand that treats America as a key market. He framed partner choice as a global question, not a design one: which market would welcome a collaboration with which brand, tested with research and the analytics team before anyone sketches a car. “This is also a global phenomenon.” He did not name any brands, and he made clear it is not a simple call. A brand that works in one country may mean little in another, and MINI has to weigh how each of its markets would respond.

Why too many special editions is a real danger

The sharpest exchange came when the conversation turned to whether MINI risks over-doing it. Hampf agreed that it does.

“It’s easy to over-extend… Yes, it’s dangerous. Especially when you lose the ‘why did they do this.’ So we’re very careful.” 

He counted only “a handful” of companies he could imagine as a good match. He also said sequence matters. After a fashion or customisation partner, MINI should not follow with something too similar in the next couple of years. Another outdoor brand is possible, he said, but not as a reflex. His central point was about the product, not the partner.

“We don’t just want the collaboration. We want the outcome of that collaboration to be a very desirable car.”

He added that he could call five companies tomorrow, and that they would all work with MINI and put their names on a car. That is exactly what he does not want to do.

“If I think I can create something nice with another company, yeah, I’ll do it. But too many partnerships is not good.”

Three lanes, one believable brand

Hampf described MINI’s current identity as a set of segments that each have to feel authentic. Rally and John Cooper Works are the performance lane. Paul Smith covers lifestyle, urban design and fashion. The Countryman Untamed adds outdoor adventure.

His test for any of them is simple.

“I don’t want customers to scratch their head and say, ‘I don’t get it.'” 

That also explains his view of the one-off concepts, such as the Vagabond collaboration in Austria, where he acted as art director and then gave the builders freedom. A one-off can be more extreme than anything he would put into production, he said, and fans reacted strongly to the connection to MINI’s rally history. Those projects are a way to learn what people want, not a preview of the showroom.

Protecting a brand with a long memory

Hampf kept returning to the idea that MINI has more history and a more committed fan base than most brands, and that comes with obligations.

“With a brand like MINI… there is something to protect about it. It’s not ‘oh, let’s try this.'” 

He used Britishness as an example of a theme brands reach for often. It is not easy, he said, and the story has to be handled carefully because it can go wrong.

MINI could fill its range with limited editions and name-brand partners tomorrow, and Hampf knows it. What he described instead is a short list, a possible US partner, and a clear view that every collaboration has to end in a car people want to drive. Paul Smith set the standard, and the next partner will be measured against it.

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