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- Bang & Olufsen has unveiled a new collaboration with Hiroshi Fujiwara’s Fragment Design
- The collection reworks the Beoplay H100, Beosound A1, Beosound Shape and Beosystem 9000c
- B&O developed a specialised anodisation and hand-polishing process to bring Fragment’s monochrome black to milled aluminium
- The Beoplay H100, Beosound A1 and Beosound Shape will be available globally from 3 June
- The made-to-order Beosystem 9000c setup will remain exclusive to Japan
Bang & Olufsen already makes audio gear you’re meant to look at. That’s the deal. Its speakers, headphones and sound systems have long sat somewhere between hi-fi equipment, furniture and sculpture, so a Fragment Design collaboration was never going to be interesting just because Hiroshi Fujiwara made everything black.
It’s how that black was made that caught our eye.
To bring Fragment’s monochrome look to B&O’s milled aluminium, the Danish audio brand developed a specialised anodisation process followed by hand-polishing. The result is a high-gloss black surface B&O describes as “liquid-like”. Or more simply, it looks wet.
Four Familiar Shapes, One New Finish
Fujiwara comes to this collaboration as a long-time B&O admirer, not just another designer lending his logo. Bang & Olufsen says the Fragment founder spent 35 years listening with the brand, while Fujiwara describes the project as a “long-time dream”, dating back to building his home around B&O’s integrated sound system in the 1990s.
So rather than start from scratch, Fragment has worked across four recognisable B&O pieces: the Beoplay H100, Beosound A1, Beosound Shape and Beosystem 9000c.
Beoplay H100 Fragment Edition
- Product type: Over-ear headphones
- Design details: High-gloss black anodised surfaces, black leather headband and cushions, contrasting white logos
- Price: USD $2,400
- Availability: Global
Starting with the Beoplay H100 Fragment Edition, the flagship over-ear headphones get high-gloss black anodised surfaces, contrasting white logos and black leather across the headband and cushions. It’s clearly a B&O headphone, just drowning in Fragment black.
Beosound A1 3rd Gen Fragment Edition
- Product type: Portable Bluetooth speaker
- Design details: High-gloss black finish with Fragment double lightning bolt beneath the grille
- Price: USD$475
- Availability: Global
The Beosound A1 Fragment Edition brings the same treatment to B&O’s portable speaker. Fragment’s double lightning bolt sits beneath the grille, giving the smallest piece in the collection a clear stamp without turning it into keychain merch.
Beosound Shape Fragment Configuration
- Product type: Modular wall-mounted speaker system
- Design details: Seven-tile “flower” configuration, black and grey fabric covers, aluminium Fragment logo tag
- Price: USD$7,100
- Availability: Global
The Beosound Shape Fragment Configuration is the most spatial of the four. After seeing the modular wall speaker system at B&O’s headquarters in Struer, Fujiwara reportedly went back to his hotel room and sketched out the seven-tile “flower” configuration. The finished version uses black and grey fabric covers with an aluminium logo tag.
Beosystem 9000c Fragment Edition
- Product type: Made-to-order CD system setup
- Included: Beosystem 9000c, Beolab 28 loudspeakers and Beoremote One
- Design details: Matte black surfaces, glossy natural aluminium, co-branded CD clamper and speaker stands
- Price: USD$69,650
- Availability: Japan exclusive
Then there’s the Beosystem 9000c Fragment Edition, the collector piece of the collection and the one most people will only ever see in photos. The made-to-order setup pairs the CD system with Beolab 28 loudspeakers and a Beoremote One, finished with black anodised surfaces and exclusive logo details.
Fujiwara’s own comment on the 9000c says plenty about why it fits the collaboration. He points to the mechanism, the way the CDs are automatically swapped and returned after playback. That little bit of mechanical theatre is peak B&O, and Fragment’s job is mainly to make it feel at home in its own world too. Shame this one isn’t leaving Japan.
Price and Availability
The Bang & Olufsen x Fragment Design collection will debut at a dedicated pop-up inside Isetan Department Store in Shinjuku, Tokyo, from 20 to 26 May. It will then roll out across Japan from 27 May, before a global online and in-store release from 3 June.
Pricing starts at USD$475 for the Beosound A1 and climbs to USD$69,650 for the Japan-exclusive Beosystem 9000c setup. Australian pricing has not yet been confirmed.
For most people, this collection will sit firmly in the “nice to look at” category. That’s fine because B&O and Fragment know exactly who this is for: the person who cares about the surface and silhouette almost as much as the sound. They also know that person probably won’t care about the price tag as much as we will.
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