Whitewall continues its post Salone del Mobile coverage with special projects by byAMT, Zaha Hadid, and a collaboration between LA-based Haas Brothers and Versace Home. Each of these unveilings offers a reinterpretation of brands whose designs encapsulate innovation and distinction. Below, we have included a few of our picks from each of these distinctive displays of design ingenuity.
Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid’s signature fluid aesthetic took form in its Serac Bench, an urban seating construction crafted of resin quartz. The piece made its debut at Fuorisalone 2013 at the Officine della Torneria from April 8 to 14. An exploration of form and function, the piece is delicately layered in smooth, concurrent waves that rest gracefully in two points to form its base. The bench’s intended purpose serves beautifully as an extension of nature, evoking the very image of landscape in its composition. The structure is a part of Zaha Hadid’s partnership with Lab23 for the Serac Collection. It was presented by Lab23 in conjunction with numerous collaborations with world-renowned architects and designers who used innovative and enviromentally friendly materials to develop their visions for the line.
byAMT
byAMT – the brain child of New York City-based founder and creative director Alissia Melka-Teichroew – presented a number of minimal, playfully compelling pieces at Salone del Mobile 2013. “I try to find the fine line between aesthetics and functional,” she said on byAMT’s site – and that she does. Among its pieces on display at Salone, byAMT featured the Dandy Hooks for YPLFL – small, waffle-faced circles in varying sizes. Inspired by the fabric quilting and the pressed metal sides of New York street vendor carts, these wooden hooks are designed to form a wall display or functionally hang your belongings. By contrast to the simple design of these wall ornaments, byAMT also premiered its intricate Ballpoint Wallpaper designs, which features pen drawings by designer Melka-Teichroew, whose intricately scribbled swirls offer a playful addition to bare walls. And moving away from furniture, byAMT also presented a number of jewelry designs for itsFunky Rocking Ring collection featuring simple diamond-shaped silhouettes atop a basic metal band.
Versace Home
Last but most certainly not least, Versace Home made a splash at Salone with new pieces from its collaboration with LA-based artists and designers Nikolai and Simon Haas. Working closely with Donatella Versace, the Haas brothers were allotted the creative freedom to reinterpret the classic Versace Home motif to create fresh new pieces for the collection. Each design reflects elements of Donatella’s image both in her personality as well as her brand. The “Bondage Bench” features a honeycombed gold base and leather cushion wrapped in black leather bindings, playing on the “sexuality of fashion and design.” Other selections from the 12-piece collection boast similar designs that mirror Versace’s iconic regality while adding a pointedly irreverent edge. “I am thrilled by this special design project by The Haas Brothers for Versace Home. They have captured the spirit of Versace, and taken us somewhere new. To me, it is a remix of Versace, one that has resulted in new iconic pieces for the home,” said Donatella Versace of the collaboration.
