Product test
What the hell is that?
by Vanessa Kim
Design that surprises: A visit to Moooi
23.5.2019
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Thomas Kunz
At Milan Design Week, the "Moooi" brand presented a range of eclectic furniture under the title "A Life Extraordinary". The exhibition was not only a feast for the eyes, but also something for the ears.
Do you know when rooms magically attract you? When you realise as soon as you enter that something very special awaits you inside? You can imagine the feeling I had when I walked past the gates of the "Mediateca Santa Teresa" palazzo in Milan recently. Its staircase slowly prepares you for what awaits you inside: a metre-high, ornate and vaulted ceiling beneath which the extraordinary world of "Moooi" extends.
From chandeliers with integrated loudspeakers and whimsical comic figures to illusionistic murals, the Moooi range is broad. The furniture and textile brand regularly invites international designers to create for it. This results in designs that could not be more different. This is mainly due to the freedom that Art Director Marcel Wanders allows: "We don't tell designers what to do. We listen to what designers want to do and try to realise their dreams". In fact, everything I get to see and hear here is far removed from everyday products.
A concert of luminaires
The chandelier "The Party" and "The Party Wall Lamps" by design studio Kranen/Gille pay tribute to the topic "A Life Extraordinary". They are inspired by a clan of strong personalities. The Party consists of five lamp heads, each representing a member of a family of five: The Mayor, Bert, Glenn, Ted and Coco. Each has a story that connects them to the rest. Their faces are intended to "bring out the fascination with secrets, family, dynamics and intrigue". Each member has a voice that sings to me as I walk through the palazzo. Sometimes they sing in a choir or alone.
Hanging opposite the wall lights are several pendant lights from the "Chalice" series, which the company presented at the Salone del Mobile last year. The design was created by Edward van Vliet. It is inspired by the grace of glass as a material. Individual elements that look like tulips define the lamp and scatter the light in all directions. The lights remind me of dandelions, which I loved collecting as a child.
Among the lights is the "BFF" sofa with a diagonal quilted pattern by Marcel Wanders. It consists of seventeen modules including a stool. As the name suggests, it's meant to be your best friend. Since trying it out, I know what that means: it literally hugs me.
The sofa is so inviting to me that I immediately take a second seat on the model on display a few steps away. My new BFF is staged in this niche together with the tables from the "Obdon" collection. It comes from designer Simone Bonanni and is inspired by the ancient, earthy material terracotta. The oval coffee tables stand alone or harmonise as a set. They show me what modern craftsmanship looks like and impress me with their irregularities. After all, it is the structure that makes these tables unique in times of mass production.
Altogether, the accessories and furniture from Moooi are not for me, but individually they are. The playful character of all the designs raises questions - and brings a smile to my face. The "Turbo Table" coffee table recently made it into the Galaxus article series "What the hell" for precisely this reason:
One day, an accessory or piece of furniture like this might make it into my home. Until then, I'll take a virtual dive into the fantastic world of Moooi from time to time.
Follow me, if you would like to know whether I have come across any other successful collections in Milan besides Moooi. Just press the black button on my profile. I look forward to your plan.
Pia Seidel
Senior Editor
Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.chLike a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.
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