After receiving his diploma in furniture design at London’s Royal College of Art, James Irvine moves to Milan in 1984 as a consultant for Olivetti and Toshiba under the direction of Michele De Lucchi and Ettore Sottsass. In 1993, he becomes a partner at the Sottsass Associati firm, and opens an independent studio in 1998.
He maintains a lively interest in product design through collaboration with Canon, LG, Muji, and Whirlpool, while he designs for the most prestigious furnishing and illumination companies: Alias, Artemide, B&B, Coro, Foscarini, Magis, MDF, Thonet, and Zumtobel. In 1999 he designs Mercedes-Benz buses for the city of Hannover.
He has taught at Karlsruhe’s Hochshule fur Gestaltung and been awarded an Honorary Doctorate at Kingston University.