Pia’s Picks: begging and pleating for new designs
25.6.2021
I like many things, but my apartment can’t fit them all. So, many products end up in my watch list instead of my shopping cart. My latest discovery is pleated designs from Italy.
Uninspired skirts and boring blinds. That’s all I could think of when hearing the term «pleated». Not edgy and cool. But that changed. Ever since I saw the designer objects by Alessi and Kartell, I find the folding technique anything but boring. I’d even go so far as calling it iconic.
Pleats are created by incorporating folds into a fabric with pressure and heat. It was the preferred style for skirts and dresses in the fifties. Meanwhile, the two Italian brands are reinterpreting the technique: instead of silk, they fold thermoplastic resin and dress up everyday objects. For example, the toaster «Plissee». It’s part of the eponymous collection designed by Michele De Lucchi and is something out of the ordinary, perfect for people like me. I find this pattern a lot more appealing than the brushed brass of a standard toaster.
Alessi specialises in kitchen gadgets. Kartell transferred the technique onto interior design objects, such as the polycarbonate lamp «E’» by Ferruccio Laviani or the thermoplastic design «Light Air Plissée» by Eugeni Quitllet. Both designs are, of course, pleated, and the structure of the lampshade adds something new to the walls with shadow play. I prefer «pleated» walls over white ones.
The pattern also embellishes the box «Trullo». It was designed by Fabio Novembre and is inspired by the traditional architecture of houses called «Trullo» in the Italian region of Puglia. However, the lid reminds me of a photograph featuring an icon of cinema history: the one with Marilyn Monroe wearing the white fluttery dress as she stands over an underground grate. Whether on skirts or Trulli – the pleats are red carpet ready. Now I can leave the juicer on the kitchen counter with a clear conscience.
Pleats may come from the world of fashion. But I like them a lot more in product design. They turn everyday products into sculptures. And with those you can truly live the motto of 2021 «the kitchen is the new art gallery».
«Pia’s Picks» is a regular feature. Tune in for more items from my watch list that you can use to spruce up your home. Follow me as an author to stay up to date.
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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