Baxter launches its first outdoor collection, and it brings a real sense of surprise. Not just for the debut itself, which represents the outcome of years of research on forms and materials, with the aim of creating a line that is consistent with the company’s values and tenets, while being truly original at the same time. The collection’s unique character becomes its biggest advantage, in fact.
Every piece in the range – designed in-house and in teamwork with several signatures already familiar to Baxter – makes the unusual, the unexpected into a common denominator for a multiplicity of stimuli (seating, daybeds, tables, carpets), formulating a new proposal for outdoor areas. From terraces to the poolside, the new furnishings can be interpreted like sculptures, with seating that imitates the comfort of the living area, fabrics so soft to the touch that they might be used for clothing. The inspirations are highly varied, like the impressions they produce. The result is an engaging effect of disorientation – are we inside or outside the house? Is this design or art? Is it a return to the past, or a vision of the future?
Take the case of Himba by Roberto Lazzeroni: the seats and cots have a sculptural appearance that references the solid and dynamic silhouettes of Brazilian design. But their essence in natural iroko wood, sanded and finished with oil, together with the organic forms, allows these pieces to perfectly blend into the natural context, “to the point of becoming reassuring presences,” the designer says. The same thing happens with the tables in the same line, offered in earthenware.
The characteristics of postmodern architecture, on the other hand, set the tone of the Dharma collection designed by Studiopepe: sculptural pieces that are solid and dynamic at the same time, with lacquer finishes in hues borrowed from Pop Art, or from the vibrant paintings of David Hockney. The mind roams into a world where decoration rules as an end in itself, towards an imaginative reinterpretation of the past. A stool, a chair, a bench, a cot, a dining table: these creations become glamorous accessories with which to dress up the house and the garden.
The armchairs, dormeuse and sofas of the Narciso collection never fail to capture the gaze, not just for their large size, but above all for their comfort and lines, which make reference to indoor solutions. “The leitmotif is in the big, soft cushions, which seem to be held together by a metal ribbon, a discreet, essential presence,” say the designers of Studiopepe, authors of the series.
Also in terms of touch, the collection reveals its dual nature: while the sensation generated is typical of cottons or raw linen, the fabrics conceal the nobility of ecological fibers in their DNA. Likewise, the leathers paired with the products by Antonio Sciortino (the Girgenti and Tia seating collections), derived from the world of yachting, bring the distinctive character of Baxter into the great outdoors, as the company’s expertise in the crafting of cowhide and leather shifts into new fields of expression and research.
Photo © Gianluca Vassallo & Francesco Mannironi
