Black, white and scary at the Milan furniture fair
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Color -- cheery but not garish -- is painting the 2010 Milan furniture fair, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that black and white are making their own statement this year. The lack-of-color scheme had the biggest impact in the installation for Kartell. Store buyers, designers and media who know the furniture company best for its rainbow of polycarbonate saw the firm’s new releases -- 16 pieces in all -- displayed with nary a jewel tone in sight. The move was brilliant because it emphasized form over color, line over finish. And Kartell had good lines to show off this year.
One clear standout: the Audrey chair, above, designed by Piero Lissoni. Each frame is made of die-cast aluminum, meaning it’s a single continuous piece of metal -- no seams. The satin silver, black and white prototypes on display all looked grand, but my eyes kept returning to the shiny silver. The point at which arm curved to seat looked like aluminum silk, if there were such a thing. (Aluminilk?) The seat and back will be available in polycarbonate, upholstery or the woven mesh shown here. When? No word. The company is still ironing out the production details.
Kartell also scored with the Comback (pronounced comeback) chair, right, Patricia Urquiola’s 21st century take on the 18th century Windsor chair. Shown in black, the piece was stunning -- a little bit granny, a little bit goth, at once sentimental and the teeniest bit intimidating.
Scary in a different way was the Monster chair that Dutch star Marcel Wanders showed at the Moooi showroom in Milan’s Tortona district.The quilted leather seat came with a Tammy Faye-meets-Oscar-the-Grouch cartoon face on the back. If you’re the kind of person who slows down to see a wreck, hit your brake, roll down the window and click to the jump ...
Crash! Smash! Pow! The Monster chair, above. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Check out our Milan furniture fair photo gallery, and join our Facebook design page to get more news from Milan in the week ahead.
-- Craig Nakano
Photo credits, from top: Kartell, Kartell, Craig Nakano
