Milan • Salone Internazionale del Mobile
In a more conspicuous display of consumption—and as an indicator of the increasing disposability of furniture design—recent fashion trends informed a large number of the latelst offerings as is evident in the likes of puffy chairs and pleated sofas. Concurrently, the furnishings industry rallied around its own “retro-looks”, reviving some designs that had been popular at mid-century, improving upon others, and looking back at a largely forgotten era of 1970s and ’80s design with a fresh eye. - David Sokol
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Puff Daddy
Tel Aviv–based designer Arik Ben Simhon’s A Maxx evokes the puffy wintertime jackets made ubiquitous by The North Face. This overstuffed armchair’s leather surface features a large pattern of quilted squares. Arik Ben Simhon, Tel Aviv. www.arikbensimhon.com
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Quilting Bee
For De Padova, super-busy designer Patricia Urquiola paid homage to Lavenham, the Suffolk, England, town where the diamond-patterned car coat was invented. The Lavenham stacking chair also features quilting, realized in printed plastic, as well as matte and shiny finishes. De Padova, Milan. www.depadova.it
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Pleats Please
Designer Stephen Burks imports traditional seam planting from the clothing workshop to the furniture factory with Pleats, in which the upholstery of the seat and back is pleated to add tactility and volume to the sleek sofa form. Modus, Somerset, England. www.modusfurniture.co.uk
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Fool the eye
While contemporary versions of trompe l’oeil have been popular motifs in wallpaper, ceramics, and other fields of design, the cushiest example of trompe l’oeil yet comes from Floor to Heaven, which has translated wide-plank wood floors in hand tufted New Zealand Wool. Floor to Heaven, Cologne. www.floortoheaven.com
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Memphis Redux
Besides parroting clothing fashions, the furniture industry is prone to its own fashion cycles. And the next big thing appears to be the revival of the Memphis and postmodernism movements. The design studio El Ultimo Grito captured the colorful, deconstructed moment with Add Up, in which different tables are linked together at different heights. Uno Design, Valencia, Spain. www.uno-design.com
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