As fashion and furniture continue to merge their ideals of beauty and form, homes can now dress to express their individual personalities – shaped and driven of course by the personalities and decisions of their owners. Basically, if you can sort of guess which brand is responsible for the look pictured top, you have the style chops to draw something useful from this story. So, leaving aside the admirable projects of refreshing your wardrobe or tricking out your vehicle, you might care for a bigger challenge this season. Our friends at Men’s Folio selected six different brand names to match six different personal styles. This is just the sort of thing magazine folks love to do and we thought we’d share it with you.
For an added sense of character (and better UX!), each of the suggestions is modeled on specific personalities.
The extravagant hedonist
Versace Home stays religiously true to its iconic over-style even as the lifestyle arm is brought in-house to complete the brand universe. Under the artistic direction of Donatella Versace, the ritzy collection fetes four brand new lines: Inspired by the Rosenthal-meets-Versace porcelain collection, Les Etoiles de la Mer commits to absolute opulence through precious materials such as Fiore di pesco marble, printed velvets and mercury wood, with prints awash in marine motifs; Vasmara evokes wildlife exoticism with leopard and zebra print decors; futuristic Gvardian is defined by clean lines and a neutral palette, with a carbon fibre table top conveying spacey visual and tactile effect; finally, the established Via Gesù Palazzo Empire range is expanded with a one-of-a-kind sky blue nubuck sofa shaped in the defining “V” of the brand. Standing out from the christened collections is the new climate-proof aluminum chair Mesedia. Crafted in the image of Versace’s unmistakable Medusa head, Mesedia is emblematic of the new Home collection and is available in five colours that remind of shifting skies: Haze, storm, cloud, purple sunset and sunrise.
The sensitive homebody
They say home is where your heart is set in stone; is where you go when you’re alone (that there’s some catchy lyrics from Gabrielle Aplin’s 2013 hit single, “Home”). In any case, if home is truly where your heart lies, then no doubt you’ll be a fan of Hermès’ latest home collection inspired by the ideal of the home as shelter for body and mind. Under the aegis of artistic directors Charlotte Perelman and Alexis Fabry, the home is transformed into a refuge of relaxation with simple yet elegant touches. Different threads of the collection — ranging from the re-edited Oria chairs by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo to the showpiece Sellier sofa demonstrating the equestrian heritage of the Maison — collectively address the theme of balance, which Hermès believes thrives and reigns in enclosed spaces. This balancing act is also cleverly propagated in the Équilibre d’Hermès assembly of desk and decorative accessories, consisting of a harmonious blend of functional and whimsical pieces: A magazine rack in the form of a horse saddle, an icosahedron paperweight, a magnifying glass held in perfect equipoise atop a conical base.
The space rocker
Imagine serving your favourite pasta on Venus, or scooping ice cream from moon craters — if you’re obsessed with astronomy and the stars, you’re in for a treat. For 2016, Diesel Living parades its latest collaboration with Italian design brand Seletti in its Cosmic Diner tableware line. Inspired by the universe, the heavenly (as close as it gets) collection comprises of porcelain plates representing the planets of the solar system, a Starman vase, salt and pepper grinders in the shape of rockets, as well as meteorite glasses to end the poetic set up. The collaboration with Seletti is among five ongoing projects that Diesel Living has going on, including Moroso for furniture, Foscarini for lighting, Iris Ceramica for ceramic tiling, and Scavolini for a new kitchen concept. The Moroso and Foscarini collections illustrate Diesel’s individualistic lifestyle with industrial design and rock styling, while the Diesel Open Workshop Kitchen with Scavolini celebrates the ethos of “Come in, we’re open!” with an open-concept social kitchen the builds on the brand’s creativity and free expression.
The ethereal minimalist
Unlike those of us who express our feelings through intense rituals — entire mornings spent painting, shouting out at open seas, retail therapy on useless junk — designer Giorgio Armani conveys his thoughts in a more refined manner. More often than not, he translates his obsessions into an elegant collection of timeless creations, and judging from his latest set for Armani/Casa, it’s pretty clear his current fixation is on light. The Time Of Lightness experiments with the notion of light and how its interplay (through shadows and reflections) can transform regular architecture into irregular elements, with Armani putting this sophistication into the perspective of minimalism and simplicity. The collection is gratifyingly considerate, keeping in mind all aspects of one’s lifestyle. It first offers a selection of tables — the Luna rotating table, Lewis oval table and Egidio low table, to name a few — then accompanies them with a complete tableware set. It also pieces together other home elements such as the Leonard buffet (two versions, with drawers and shelves or as a television unit) and Club bar cabinet, the latter a 50-piece limited edition hand-made with black straw marquetry and dramatized in an Ocean lacquer finish that calls to mind The Great Wave off Kanagawa by renowned Japanese artist Hokusai. These are topped off with resplendent Murano glass pieces and exquisite textiles by Rubelli.
The pop artist
Following last year’s series of ceramics-inspired leather bowls, Spanish luxury brand Loewe is back to win hearts with an entire bag of striking and eccentric designs crafted in leather marquetry. Conceived by creative director Jonathan Anderson, this latest collection of oak furniture is embellished with leather cut-outs in an array of shapes and colours pieced together to form mosaic drawings of flowers and landscapes. The project is partly inspired by the radical design ideas of pioneering artist-critic Roger Fry (furniture covered in bold, hand-painted patterns, for example), and the motifs are taken from silk prints found in Loewe’s archives, including a recurring carp adapted from a set of centuries-old Japanese wood screens Anderson found in Hong Kong. The end product is stunning, with six new creations, including a large wardrobe and two Baillie Scott chairs, along with lamps and cigar boxes as well as notebooks and leather pouches, all coated in fun to brighten up your living space.
The unrepentant gentleman
Bronze tables surfaced in the signature intrecciato leather weave (an exclusive collaboration with Italian designer Osanna Visconti di Modrone), Murano lamps in new cigar and nero colorations, suede and leather drawers fitted with iconic bronzed handles — there’s nothing in Bottega Veneta’s home collection that doesn’t spell masculine decadence. When set against a backdrop of historic frescoes, coffered ceilings and stone walls found in a profound 18th century palazzo (Palazzo Gallarati Scotti in the heart of Milan, to be precise), the curated creations by creative director Tomas Maier even provide a taste of medieval excess. Apart from the aforementioned pieces, the collection boasts a suede seating set (club chair, foot rest, three-seat couch and day bed) named Rudi in collaboration with Poltrona Frau, a series of sterling silver collectible boxes each bearing semi-precious stones and planetary names, and a delicate hand-painted porcelain dining service. It’s a long list of complementary pieces that come together coherently to exude sophistication in the homes of those with discerning tastes.
This article was first published in Men’s Folio.
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