AW 22 Trend Edit: Dark Silhouettes
The contemporary home is for us. Not the neighbours, not the internet, but designed around the needs and wants of ourselves and our families. Creating a home in such a free-spirited way fills the space with joy, representing our taste and who we truly are as people.
Colour might not be for all of us, but shape exists in all homes – why not exaggerate it a little? The vogue for highlighting the pure, refined form of design objects, rather than their material, texture, pattern or tone, is about viewing chairs, tables, vases and clocks as art pieces as well as functional items. Well, aren’t they?
Never noticed the perfect arc on your lounge chair, the fine lines that compose your dining table, the precise angles on your stools? When they’re in full blackout mode you will. Removing all else but the raw silhouette of an item heightens our awareness, appreciation and love of it.
From soft upholstered pieces to hard furniture and smaller accessories, the effect is the same – you stop and stare, the eyes magnetically pulled towards inward by the audacious high contrast, and you are almost unable to look away. A perhaps-overlooked space in the home is turned into a chic interactive art zone, as well as somewhere to relax in.
Serere Silhouettes
1. Romby Chair, Porro
The Romby chair by GamFratesi engages in a beautiful game of contrasts. The geometric coned based swivels upwards to reveal a cocooning seat, indulgently upholstered to envelop the sitter in softness.
2. Androgyne Side Table, Menu
Centred around an air-filled void which hovers between two and three dimensions, the Androgyne Dining Table by Danielle Siggerud is a study of form and volume and dark punctuated by light.
3. Clay Dining Table, Desalto
Both a table and an impactful sculpture, the Clay Dining Table by Marc Krusin is a celebration of balance, two imposing volumes seamlessly stabilising and supporting each other.
4. Oto Dining Table, Gallotti&Radice
Appearing to cast its own shadow, the Oto Dining Table by Oscar and Gabriele Buratti is composed of a large glass top supported and mirrored by a smaller circular metal base.
5. Vicino Low Table, Molteni & C
Designed by Foster+Partners, the leaf-life surfaces of the Vicino Low Table are moveable, its lacquered steel frame concealing an innovative mechanism to make it an ever-changing sculpture.
6. Giano Keramik Dining Table, Cattelan Italia
With a whimsical split down the middle of its base, the Giano Keramik Dining Table by Manzoni & Tapinassi is designed for casting intriguing shadows as well as for creative dinners.
7. Terminal 1 Chaise Longue, B&B Italia
Akin to a floating piece of art, the Terminal 1 Chaise Longue by Jean-Marie Massaud is both an armchair and a chaise lounge, it’s utter darkness hypnotically drawing attention.
8. Epic Steel Table, Gubi
A metal monolith, the Epic Steel Dining Table by GamFratesi dramatically combines geometric shapes, the circular table top contrasting the angular base in midnight black steel.
9. Asterisk Wall Clock, Vitra
An icon of 1950s design, the Asterisk Wall Clock by George Nelson breaks a clock down to simple components, its white hands adding impactful contrast to its graphic black form.
10. Fat Lounge Chair, Tom Dixon
Designed to hug the body and allow for multiple sitting positions with its oversized proportions, the Fat Lounge Chair by Tom Dixon creates a curvy, light-hearted silhouette.