Re/Start – 2

Three simple questions addressed to design protagonists (today we are featuring Matali Crasset, Draga & Aurel, Jacopo Foggini, Jaime Hayon, Sebastian Herkner and Giulio Iacchetti) who will return to Milan this year. Three answers that reveal an entire world for each of them

Bon-Bon, The Candy Box collection by Draga & Aurel
Bon-Bon, The Candy Box collection by Draga & Aurel

1. What was the object that represented the lockdown the most for you?
2. What object represented the restart?
3. What are the main projects you’ll be showing at the Salone (or Fuorisalone)?

Draga & Aurel
Como

1. Our Cala bench: the lockdown somehow made us rediscover our city, Como, and our lake. And Cala was inspired by the beauty of the lake.
2. The Golia coffee tables, seen last September at the Rossana Orlandi Gallery. We presented them because they are associated with the return of Design Week, and they mark the beginning of a collaboration, the one with Rossana, an icon of art and design.
3. We will be present at RoCOLLECTIBLE in the Rossana Orlandi Gallery with an installation. We will expand our “Transparency Matters” with new pieces including the Tito bed, and the Joy lamp in round format. At the Nilufar Depot we will present the capsule collection “The Candy Box”. At the show we will be signing pieces for Baxter, Visionnaire, Wall&decò, Gallotti & Radice, Essential Home and DelightFULL. 

Matali Crasset - Photo © Julien Jouanjus
Matali Crasset – Photo © Julien Jouanjus

Matali Crasset
Paris

1. This period allowed me to draw and to make a book with about 300 drawings, published by Presses du réel in 2021. I then had fun transforming them into an animated film, almost as if to make this suspended time continue.
2. The collaboration with historic companies like Atelier Missègle, Atelier Tuffery, Maison Berger, Roger Pradier, Tissage Moutet, EPV: small businesses rooted in their territory. A relationship that takes on even greater meaning today, when international flows of goods are being called into discussion.
3. Two new projects for Campeggi and Keep in Life; I will take part in an exhibition and a book curated by Domitilla Dardi, Playgrounding for Corraini Edizioni, at the 121+ bookstore in Milan, Via Savona 17/A.

A'mare by Edra, Design Jacopo Foggini
A’mare by Edra, Design Jacopo Foggini

Jacopo Foggini
Milan

1. I spent most of the lockdown in my house in the country. There, I had to adjust my life to the slow, wise rhythms of nature, cooking and above all tending my vegetable garden. So I am reminded of the hoe: a simple tool I see as a case of absolute elegance.
2. Getting back to Milan with lots of new ideas and a project on which I have worked with a passion: my first outdoor collection for Edra. The slats of the A’Mare collection are the objects I handled, studied and observed the most in those months.
3. The A’Mare collection for Edra: with Beton Eisack I will build a monumental installation at the State University: an opportunity to think about the use of innovative materials and the role of design as a symbol of dialogue and peace. 

Jaime Hayon
Jaime Hayon

Jaime Hayon
Valencia

1. Definitely pencils: for me drawing is very important.
2. I think of the apron I use when I’m painting. And the art exhibitions I have prepared and am preparing around the world.
3. A carpet with Nani Marquina and products made with BD Barcelona. There will also be new versions of the T-Bone chair made with Ceccotti Collezioni and presented last September. 

Memoto by Giulio Iacchetti
Memoto by Giulio Iacchetti

Giulio Iacchetti
Milan

1. The pencil: utilized day and night, filling up many square meters of paper with drawings and sketches!
2. The Memoto electric scooter I am again using to go to events, exhibitions and the Triennale, or to the headquarters of the many Milanese companies with which I work.
3. An installation in Brera for Posca (the legendary Japanese markers we have all used in school or at home); a line of bags for Montbook; a family of tables for Fantin; a co-branding project for Campari and Alessi.

Sebastian Herkner - Photo © Gaby Gerster
Sebastian Herkner – Photo © Gaby Gerster

Sebastian Herkner
Offenbach am Main (Germany)

1. Actually there is one project that just during the blockade started and was realized: the Aarde planter series for the South African brand Indigenus. Unfortunately, the whole development and communication happened digitally and not physically.
2. I designed a bathroom collection for Duravit: Zencha, made from natural materials such as glass, wood, and ceramic. Inspired by the Asian tea ceremony, I created an atmosphere to focus on ourselves-a slow moment to recharge our inner soul.
3. In addition to Aarde for Indigenus and Zencha for Duravit, the following will be featured: the new Twins outdoor collection for Emu; the Journey wine glass collection for Zwiesel Glas; the Nuage family of coffee tables for Co Edition; the Ulis lounge chair for Capdell; and the Cartagena La Reina Cocoon chair for Ames.