10 Styles That Eschew The Idea of Form Follows Function

Seeing is believing when it comes to Jaime Hayon and his fantastical furnishings. Hidden within each is a softly spoken desire: to rethink everyday objects with originality and flair. It’s within this indulgent universe that the Explorer Coffee Table was born. A colourful, curvy design that takes its stylistic cues from the humble jelly bean.

It’s often said that old habits die hard. It’s an expression that explains why when one of America’s greatest architects decided to design the perfect chair, he approached it as he would a building. The result was a sketch so technically challenging, many thought it impossible. The answer to the construction of the dramatic Taliesin chair was eventually found in the Japanese art of Origami. To this day, each and every chair is lovingly made to order from a single sheet of solid wood.

With Chiara, Mario Bellini didn’t wish to design a lamp. Rather, he sought to design an object that would exist in the world in the same ephemeral manner as light itself. A flat-packable floor lamp soon followed, cloaked in an elegant uniform of stainless steel. It’s raison d’être is both to provide and reflect light, at once a handy luminaire and other-worldly mirror.

On The Rocks is a sculpture made soft. There are no stiff structures, no rigid armrests. In abandoning traditional notions of form, Binfaré opens up new modes of connection and lounging.

Bookshelves have earned a bad rep over the years. Spinnaker turns traditional storage on its head, a slender floor-to ceiling solution that can be used for zoning or storing without eating up all the available floor space.

Scale? What scale? Under the creative auspices of Marcel Wanders, the delicate hand mirror goes life size, promising to imbue blank walls with wit and whimsy. Admirers can shop online or make an appointment to see it in-store.

One of our favourite ways to subvert expectations in the dining room is with a daring balancing act. Dining tables are expected to be heavy visual anchors — so when you introduce an element of weightlessness, they promise to become exciting focal points. It’s exactly what happens with Clay, Marc Krusin‘s award-winning design for Desalto.

The DS-1025 Sofa is perhaps the most unusual item on this shortlist. Striking from all angles, its tubular terraced planes flow outwards like the winding farmlands of the Ancient Incas. Supremely soft and buildable, each of the modules can be joined together to create both shared and individual experiences of contemporary lounging.

No designer loved the idea of cantilever as much as Verner Panton. One of the great lights of Nordic design, his System 123 chair pushed the form to its absolute limit, masterfully enabling a sense of movement even when one is sat down.

Last but not least is the Blanket Bed — a quirky Made in Italy design which rethinks a classic format with new cosiness and charm. When describing his design process, Alessandra Busana revealed how he wanted to create “something very far removed from the standard ways beds are designed and perceived. I soon realised that the detail I was looking for wasn’t hidden but very visible in the bed… the blanket.”

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