Furniture, interior decors and all manner of home furnishings are what the annual Salone del Mobile is all about. Over the years, it has since evolved to include an ever-growing roster of design in various forms. Fashion brands are in on it too, extending their brand identities beyond clothes and applying the same level of craftsmanship to objects, every lover of fashion and design would desire for.
Take a look at some of Salone del Mobile 2018’s fashionable entrants.
Loewe
Loewe’s creative director Jonathan Anderson is a self-professed fabric obsessive. For Salone del Mobile 2018, the project focused on large-scale tapestries and blankets made by artisans specializing in specific textile production methods. These included a Japanese hand-painted silk tapestry, ribbon hand-embroidery from India and elaborate African patchwork designs. A range of tote bags was also on display, and treated with similar techniques as the blankets and tapestries. These were available for sale and will be released in select Loewe stores worldwide in October 2018. Profits from the Loewe Salone del Mobile project will be donated to charities promoting traditional craft and women’s education in minority communities around the world.
Armani/Casa
Giorgio Armani was particularly inspired by the juxtaposition between urban and nature. This was translated into a varied mix of materials such as the combination of wood with plexiglass. The ‘Net’ coffee table for example, was crafted in an alternating pattern of plexiglass and natural American walnut, which makes the piece look as though it’s floating. Armani’s constant search for new materials to craft with has also led him to use Murano glass as well as hand-ribbed glass in the Armani/Casa collection of small objects. Add to that the rich colours of the upholstery and dark wood; this is one super luxurious collection.
COS
Swedish brand COS has had a special relationship with Salone del Mobile. COS made use of the fair as a way of announcing that it was to launch in Italy, back in 2012. Since then, COS has collaborated with various design collectives to create installations that are often architectural-inspired. This year, COS partnered with American visual artist Phillip K. Smith lll on ‘Open Sky’—a large scale sculpture inspired by the sky above the Palazzo Isimbardi and the surrounding architecture. The concept was to seamlessly merge both together, “creating as ever-changing experience”.
Bottega Veneta
Just how serious is Bottega Veneta about furniture? Well, the brand set up a dedicated furniture Atelier in Italy’s Veneto region in 2015. The new Bottega Veneta Home Collection that was showcased is a contrast from the muted and dark palette designed by creative director Tomas Maier two years ago. Pure white pieces and a range of softer pastels dominate the collection. This collection also marks the second time that the brand collaborates with Italian designer Osanna Visconti di Modrone. Three new lighting pieces—a chandelier, a table lamp and a hanging lamp—are all designed with the signature intrecciato textured motif.
Louis Vuitton
The French luxury maison launched its first Les Petit Nomades collection at Salone del Mobile 2018. This extension of Louis Vuitton’s well-recognised Objets Nomades collection features small decorative objects created by existing Objets Nomades designers Humberto and Fernando Campana, Atelier Oï, Patricia Urquiola and Marcel Wanders. The collection features seven objects with leather as the main material and while designed by different designers, each possesses a sort of origami-like quality to its design.
Ermenegildo Zegna
The second iteration of Ermenegildo Zegna’s playful Zegna’s Toyz collection was presented at Salone del Mobile 2018. The series of accessories, entertainment and home products continues the use of the brand’s now-signature Pelle Tessuta—a leather fabric developed by Ermenegildo Zegna—technique but with a heightened sense of complexity. Inspired by a 1968 herringbone pattern found in the Zegna archive, and as an ode to the 50th anniversary of Ermenegildo Zegna’s foray into ready-to-wear, the leather yarns are woven to recreate that herringbone pattern. Featured in this Zegna’s Toyz collection are a ping pong set, multimedia accessories in collaboration with Master & Dynamic, as well as soccer balls.
