Super Suave - Home Trends
This year a special edition of the Milan Furniture Fair, dubbed ‘Supersalone’, turned pandemic constraints into a chance to experiment. Exhibition booths were replaced with flexible, modular display walls and site-specific installations were staged across the city’s galleries and piazzas. The mood? Colorful, elegant, classic. Designers’ collections reflected a lockdown-inspired desire for homes to be ‘happy places’ with a nod to the glitzy ’60s reminding us that a little glamor can go a long way.
Soriana
by Cassina
First designed in 1969 by Afra and Tobia Scarpa, Cassina’s iconic Soriana seating range has been rebooted using biodegradable materials. The padding is made from BioFoam® microspheres and the updated version has a CARB certified wooden panel base. The new collection also includes a selection of chromatic combinations that match lush fabrics and soft leathers with a black, blue, burgundy, green and white painted metal frame.
Shade
by Sowden Light
Seventy-nine-year-old designer George Sowden, one of the founding members of Memphis, the ’80s radical movement that challenged modernism’s ruling aesthetic, has launched a new company and a new collection of multihued fixtures that exploit the light-diffusing, long-lasting, non-toxic properties of silicone. The initial collection includes 18 basic shapes that can be assembled into pendants, table lamps, floor lamps and mobile fixtures.
Marmini Chair
by La Chance
Inspired by Scott Burton’s 1980 Rock Chair, which the artist famously created by carving an L-shape into a two-ton sierra granite boulder—the Marmini lounge chair similarly blurs the lines between furniture and sculpture. Exhibited during Supersalone in the airy apartment of its designer, Hannes Peer, the chair, which is made from Verde Alpi, Bianco Carrara and Fior di Pesco marble, features an oversized cushion of Lelièvre fabric.
Allure o
& Flair O
by B&B Italia
Referencing the glitzy 1960s—and more specifically the shape of Jackie O’s iconic eyeglasses—the new throne-like Flair O chair and sculptural Allure O table are a tribute to glamor reinterpreted in contemporary style. Designed by Monica Armani, the Allure O table is available in glossy or matte painted finishes in 18 colors, while the Flair O chair can be covered in a wide range of options from the B&B Italia upholstery collection.
Golia Coffee Table
by Draga & Aurel
Lake Como-based design duo Draga & Aurel took inspiration from the materials and architectural style of New Brutalism for their new capsule collection Transparency Matters. The Golia coffee table combines a concrete surface gently corroded with sea salt, with smooth, bright resin that changes based on the surrounding light.
Round Table
by Agglomerati
This year Alcova, an exhibition for exploratory designs, included new works from Agglomerati. The London-based studio presented a new version of Fred Ganim’s iconic Round Table, a limited-edition piece carved from a single block of Brazilian Quartzite. The deep grey of the stone, shot through with layers of warm red and cool, natural tones, create tightly compressed layers on the table’s smooth surface.
Kilt Collection by Ethimo
Designer Marcello Ziliani unveiled new colors for his Kilt outdoor chair collection for Ethimo. Olive Green and Ruby Wine were both inspired by the warm shades of Mediterranean vegetation. The chairs combine FSC certified teak frames with natural rope, a dense weave that forms the seat and backrest ensuring optimum comfort and resistance to the elements.