Our 10 Favorite Magical Objects From The Enigmatic Mind of Architect and Designer François Dallegret →

Design is important because it reinvigorates our everyday objects with new life. A good designer does not just make a bed; he makes a bed into a crucifix made out of sot polyurethane. A good architect does not just redesign a basement; he turns the basement into a drugstore/nightclub. We are speaking of the multi-talented architect and artist François Dallegret. The French-born, Montreal-based designer studied architecture at the famous Beaux-Arts in Paris before he tired of their strict, conformist imaginations of what spaces and objects might look like. Since the 60s, Dallegret has been experimenting with futuristic and imaginative concepts and materials, creating multifunctional furniture, strange machines, walking cakes, jumping spheres, electrical and inflated garments, and more. On the occasion of the architect's latest exhibition in Los Angeles, here are ten of his most whimsical and fantastic creations. Click here to read more. 

Gufram On The Rocks "50 Years of Design Against the Tide" @ Carla Sozzani Gallery in Milan

On the occasion of miart and Salone del Mobile 2016, Galleria Carla Sozzani presents Gufram on the Rocks: 50 Years of Design against the Tide. The exhibition explores the first 50 years of Gufram through its most symbolic projects, the ones that in recent years have revived the legend of the brand and its mad and disruptive visions. With a special set up, some of the most representative icons of the history of Gufram invade the gallery's space: from the couch Bocca by Studio65 to Cactus designed by Guido Drocco and Franco Mello; from Pratone by Giorgio Ceretti, Pietro Derossi and Riccardo Rosso, to Sasso and Sedilsasso by Piero Gilardi; from Globe by Studio Job to Magnolia by Marcel Wanders, and many others. Gufram On The Rocks "50 Years of Design Against the Tide" will be on view until May 1, 2016 at Galeria Carla Sozzani, Corso Como 10, 20154 Milano. Photographs by Juanco Viso

Lee Broom's Salone del Automobile Installation On the Streets of Milan

Lee Broom drove from London to Milan on this truck/mobile Palazzo to display his new collection of lighting fixtures. When asked about it he said: "Last year I went to a lot of exhibitions that were all about the Palazzo and everybody was talking about that." So this year he decided to literally deliver his own Palazzo. Always in the fastlane this guy. You can follow the whereabouts of Salone Del Automobile here. text and photograph by Juanco Viso

Nendo Manga Chairs and Gebrüder Thonet Presentation @ the Basilica Minore di San Simpliciano in Milan

Situated in the in Basilica Minore di San Simpliciano's main cloister, Gebrüder Thonet's iconic chair evolution and reloads. High Design rugs from Nodus. And last, but certainly not least, 50 Manga Chairs by Nendo, presented by Friedman Benda Gallery, NYC during Salone De Mobile in Milan. photographs by Juanco Viso

Getting Afreaky: Check Out Our Interview and Studio Tour Of The Mystical Creative Force of Nature That Is The Haas Brothers →

The Haas brothers seem like mystical ambassadors from the future. However, they are not here to portend of doom and gloom, like the current headlines may lead you to predict. Indeed, the future looks pretty bright according to Nikolai and Simon Haas – fraternal twins who make high-end sculptural objects that only the very lucky can afford, but are almost talismanic in their complexity and humorous in their intentional simplicity. The materials the brothers use mimic natural and rare phenomena in nature. This gives their work a sexual energy that takes phallic and vaginal forms, replete with folds and shafts and rounded curves that could make the prudish contingent quite sensitive. Put the work together and it looks like a combination of Maurice Sendak's menagerie of Wild Things and Dr. Seuss on too many tabs of acid. Click here to read the interview and see more pictures. 

“Paulin, Paulin, Paulin" Features The Work Of Designer Pierre Paulin Next To Contemporary Artists @ Galerie Perrotin In Paris

On view now: “Paulin, Paulin, Paulin,” at Galerie Perrotin, Paris offers a dialogue between Pierre Paulin designs produced in limited editions by Paulin, Paulin, Paulin (in particular the “Déclive” from 1966, plus the “Jardin à la française” armchairs, tables and rugs made specially for the Palais d’Iéna in 1985; “Dune” and “Tapis-Siège” designed for the Herman Miller project in 1970, etc.), with works by contemporary artists such as Mike Bouchet, César, John De Andrea, Tara Donovan, Elmgreen & Dragset, Laurent Grasso, Candida Höfer, KAWS, Bertrand Lavier, Heinz Mack, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Jesús Rafael Soto and Xavier Veilhan. A number of these artists have used Paulin designs in their own work (Bertrand Lavier, Elmgreen & Dragset, Candida Höfer) while others have created pieces that suggest loose formal affinities or evoke Paulin’s universe. Paulin, Paulin, Paulin opens today and will be on view until December 19, 2015 at Galerie Perrotin, 76 Rue de Turenne, Paris  

Designer Sean Knibb At the Unveiling of The Casa Canova Collection At Please Do Not Enter In Los Angeles

Designer and artist Sean Knibb, of Knibb Design, unveiling his unique series of Carrara marble tables with intricately and meticulously carved t-shirts and jean shorts, at the Please Do Not Enter concept shop in downtown LA. photograph by Oliver Maxwell Kupper

Jacob Kassay At the Beautiful Fitzpatrick-Leland House In Los Angeles Presented By 303 Gallery

Last weekend, 303 Gallery presented Jacob Kassay's presentation of new work at R.M. Schindler's Fitzpatrick-Leland House at the peak of Mulholand Drive in Los Angeles. Commissioned in 1936 as a model home by developer Clifton Fitzpatrick, the Fitzpatrick-Leland house underwent numerous modifications by previous owners until being acquired by Russ Leland in 1990, who restored much of its original design. In a site layered with a history of iterations and mixed uses, Kassay presents a group of raw stretchers from his ongoing series of irregularly shaped remnant paintings, which emerge from the residual textiles leftover from the production of other paintings and from the studios of fellow artists. While Schindler's house was originally built solely for display, these works take shape from excess material typically omitted from use and view. These discards are recouped as blueprints for paintings, where each remnant is given a wooden support that follows its discrete profile and contours, reversing the conventional procedure of producing paintings where surface is trimmed to fit its substrate. photographs by Oliver Maxwell Kupper

At The V&A Museum Faye Toogood's Cloaks Are Meant to Keep You Warm and Curious

photograph Theo Bridge

Visitors to the V&A Museum during the London Design Festival are transformed into temporary custodians via Faye Toogood’s two-part installation, The Cloakroom. The first part of the experience is a literal cloakroom, located in Room 55, where visitors are invited to check out one of 150 Toogood coats to wear around the Museum. Each coat is equipped with a sewn-in map that guides the visitor through the second part of the installation: ten places in the Museum galleries, where they will discover a series of sculptural garments created by Toogood in response to nearby objects from the Museum’s collection – from a 15th century timber-panelled room to a shining suit of armour. The 150 navigational coats are based on the voluminous Oil Rigger coat, one of the first coats designed for the Toogood brand, which the designer runs with her pattern-cutter sister, Erica. The coats are made from Highfield by Kvadrat, a high-tech compressed-foam textile and each has been hand-treated to render it unique. The sculptural garments visitors discover during their journey are constructed from non-traditional fashion materials, including wood, fibreglass and metal, bridging the worlds of furniture design and fashion with which Toogood is engaged. “These are ten of my favourite objects within the V&A, and I’ve responded to each object’s material, craftsmanship, or artisan maker,” says Toogood. “I want to take people on a journey of discovery through the depths of the Museum.” The installation will be on view until September 27, 2015 – with a special talk given by Faye Toogood on the 25th  – at the V&A at The Clore Study Area, Room 55, Level 2, Cromwell Road. 

A Thing of Beauty Is A Joy Forever: A Fascinating New Monograph Explores the Life and Work of Underrated British Designer James Irvine

A fascinating new monograph, published by Phaidon, explores the life and work of design legend James Irvine (1958–2013). Indeed, you may not know Irvine by name, but his designs have had a profound influence in the world of both home furnishing as well as technology – he has also had a profound impact on other designers. On top of a beautiful offering of unpublished sketches and images from Irvine’s archives, this new comprehensive tome also includes texts and narratives by contemporary designers who were friends and that worked closely with the iconoclastic designer. For instance, Jasper Morrison tells the story of going to school with Irvine at the Royal Academy of Art and learning of his move to Milan to work for Olivetti – there is also a story about Irvine falling out of a window naked in Barcelona. Another designer, Naoto Fukasawa talks about meeting one of Irvine’s chairs before actually meeting the man – and based on the lines of the chair having a prescient notion of the designer’s friendliness as a person. There is also a great dialogue between Marc Newson, who recently signed on as a design consultant for Apple, and design critic Francesca Picchi on Irvine’s contributions to Olivetti and Toshiba – namely a computer device that looks like an iPad, well before its invention.  From his early work with Ettore Sottsass’ “Associati” to his more mature works for Japanese home and office goods retailer Muji, like a USB powered desk fan or a simple aluminum pen case, this monograph may be the corner piece that helps complete  the jigsaw puzzle of contemporary commercial design. The book is available to purchase here. Follow Autre on Instagram for updates: @autremagazine

Ettore Sottsass: A Master of Postmodern Italian Design →

There is a good chance that you have been hearing a lot about Ettore Sottsass – the revolutionary, incendiary and boundlessly creative postmodern Italian designer and architect. If you are in the design world, you may say that the Sottsass renaissance is already starting to recede – from the flood of interest that came after his death in 2007. For others, you may be curious: who is Ettore Sottsass and why is everyone talking about him? If you don’t know his name, you may be seeing a lot of his designs: on social media, a peculiar lamp on someone’s desk, or an alien-like bookshelf in a friend’s home. What is there to know about Sottsass? The most important thing to know is that he was a complete anomaly – a planet on its own bizarre axis. His limitless exuberance was a breath of fresh air compared to the stodgy, boring design of the 1970s and 80s, and his referential palate extended to American Jazz, beat poetry, and 1940s Indian architecture. Indeed, Sottsass got his start revolutionizing mundane, everyday utilitarian objects and machinery, from typewriters to corkscrews. However, it was his founding of the Memphis Group and his subsequent furniture designs that earned his praise and vitriol. Love him or hate him, Sottsass’s designs will be forever iconic of his singular vision of reinterpretation and creative anarchy. Click here to read more. 

Sean Knibb Presents Gorgeous Carrara Marble Tables At ICFF, Read Our Exclusive Interview With the Designer →

Designer Sean Knibb (Knibb Design) - known for decking out the The LINE Hotel in Los Angeles - creates unique Carrara marble tables with t-shirts and jean shorts meticulously carved into the marble surface - the process takes over 700 hours by highly skilled Italian artisans. The series of functional tables will be presented ICFF in New York. Read our exclusive interview with Knibb here. 

PART TWO: HIGHLIGHTS FROM SALONE DEL MOBILE 2015 IN MILAN

Part two of our coverage of Salone del Mobile 2015 - see part one here. Every corner of the city - including private palazzos and high end retail establishments – are transformed into an exhibition space showing local and global furniture design. For part two of Autre's coverage, highlights include Armani Casa's unique and classy exhibition feature blueprints from tallest building in the world, street scenes and Tom Dixon's classic furniture pieces floating in space. Full coverage and photos by Juanco Viso for Autre.

Cassina Celebrates Contemporary Icons @ Salone del Mobile

A stage in continuous movement: windows designed by winner Studio Calvi & Brambilla. Exhibit featuring the participating projects of the contest by Interni & Cassina to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the LC Collection, which was on in Milan as part of Salone del Mobile 2015. photographs by Juanco Viso

Louis Vuitton “Objets Nomades” at Salone del Mobile 2015

On display on Corso Venezia, Louis Vuitton asked 9 designers to interprate the art of travelling through innovative and luxurious handcrafted objects. The "Objets Nomades" collection was presented in conjunction with the 2015 Salone del Mobile. photographs by Juanco Viso. 

A Norwegian Presence @ Salone Del Mobile in Milan

Cool, understated and functional – Norwegian furniture design makes its presence known at the 2015 Salone Del Mobile in Milan. This unique satellite fair offers a bevy of classic and contemporary furniture pieces, crafts accessories presented among unique color coded sections - the colors are chosen to represent the Norwegian mountains, woods and sea. Norwegian Presence is the result of the collaboration between Klubben, Norwegian Crafts and Norwegian Icons and will be on view at the Fuorisalone until April 19, 2015. 

Part One: Highlights from Salone del Mobile 2015 in Milan

Design and exceptional craftsmanship abound in Milan for the 2015 Salone del Mobile. Every corner of the city - including private palazzos and high end retail establishments – are transformed into an exhibition space showing local and global furniture design. Highlights include artist Maurizio Cattelan's LOVE sculpture, which is just a middle finger, outside the Milano Stock Exchange splashed with film projections. Also, Wallpaper and Leclettico bring you an exhibition of high-end handmade wares. Browse through photos above to see much more. Full coverage and photos by Juanco Viso for Autre.