Fashion and Furniture: Functional or Flashy?
“Fashion is like architecture or design: it’s just a matter of proportions.” – Coco Chanel
Fashion and furniture have always circled around the same sphere of artistry, co-existing in conjunction with one another. Whilst they represent two different forms of expression, both however are seemingly very closely aligned that their intersection has become increasingly recognised in recent years. With the fashion industry journeying across multidisciplinary roads, more and more designers are beginning to expand into the world of interior design.
The symbiotic relationship between fashion and furniture dates as far back as the 18th century, an era which saw the start of their amalgamation, the fusing together of beauty ideals through new shapes and forms. The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art explored this new creative language in a 2004 exhibition, entitled “Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the Eighteenth Century”. In it were displayed a series of clothing and furniture from 18th century France that were greatly influenced by the Rococo and Neoclassical interiors of that period, an investigation of the luxury, elegance and excess that the two represented in unison.
Both serve as creative openings to express and channel individualism, in physical form. Whether it be a sofa set, jewellery, or the perfect dress, fashion and furniture possess the essential elements to do so, with fabrics and textures alike. “A fashion designer’s eye for style can’t be confined by clothing,” elucidates Diane Von Furstenburg at Milan’s design week in March 2018, prompting the relationship between interior design and fashion. Their common thread intertwines in a diversity of ways, inspiring collaborations between these two different structures of the same art, allowing for a new approach to innovation in the dynamic domain of design.
While furniture design may still be unfamiliar territory for some fashion designers, there are already a number of well-established fashion houses that have constructed their lines of luxury living. Some prominent labels that have been in the game for a long length of time, as early as the 1980s, include Missoni Home, Armani Casa, Versace Home, Fendi Casa, Casa Loewe, Ralph Lauren Home. By brands expanding and exploring beyond clothing, they have birthed some very distinctive fashion and furniture collaborations and introduced new designs to the creative field.
Now let’s look at some notable crossovers between the two industries:
Maison Martin Margiela x Cerruti Baleri
Cerruti Baleri, known for producing remarkable furniture pieces, joined forces with Maison Margiela to launch a special project in 2010, including Surrealism-inspired interior design products such as “Groupe”, a sofa that consists of three armchairs.
Photo: Baleri Italia
Cos
Since the year 2012, Cos has collaborated with up-and-coming designers for the Salone del Mobile in Milan. In 2017, they worked with Studio Wine, whose work resembles that of the brand’s, minimalist and refined, with the use of modern materials. Together, they created a six meter sculpture, known as New Spring, made from recycled aluminium, blossoming with flowers. The piece was inspired by the public fountains of Italy, known for being a place where people and ideas meet.
Balenciaga x Crosby Studios
Crosby Studio founder, Harry Nuriev, teamed up with Balenciaga in 2019 for the creation of a special edition furniture piece, “The Balenciaga Sofa”. Its intention was to promote environmentally conscious design, giving an extended life to generations of old garments by transforming them into a piece of furniture.
Rick Owens
Originally designing furniture simply because he and his wife, Michele Lamy, “needed things for the house”, Rick Owens launched his furniture design career in 2007, with wonderfully weird pieces created with a contrast of different materials.
Virgil Abloh x IKEA
Virgil Abloh and IKEA joined forces to manufacture “MARKERAD”, a series of inexpensive yet fashionable interior décor released in 2019, that merges contemporary art culture, street art culture and IKEA’s basic product design.
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