CLASSICS LINE
It is no surprise that the revisiting of the Less is More tenants of minimalism also brings with it a continued and growing interest in classic and iconic furnishings, whether the re-issue or re-interpretation of iconic pieces or the refashioning of an earlier design.
“We are back now to lean products, stark sometimes, based on available resources and figurative references,” states a trend report by prominent Italian furnishings show Salone de Mobili.
Harry Bertoia’s influence on Ludovica+Roberto Palomba is quite apparent. The Italian-born mid-century artist and furniture designer created five wire pieces that became known as the Bertoia Collection for Knoll in the mid-1950s. Among them were his famous Diamond armchair — a fluid, sculptural diamondshaped form made from a moulded lattice work of welded steel, on a slender steel rod base. A similar shape and base inform the Grandtour.
Notable reissues tracked the metal mood of the moment and include the 1950s Malibu sofa by William Haines, while Danish design company & Tradition has reissued Verner Panton’s 1968 Flowerpot pendant lamp in many colours, including privileged versions in copper, brass, chrome and brushed steel that are handmade in Denmark.
“Certainly, those extraordinary design moments between the end of the ‘40s and the mid-‘60s — Italian in particular, but also Danish, Finnish and American — seem long distant, but the enduring fashion for re-editions is an absolutely symptomatic reminder of this,” notes the Salone report. Examples