Change of season: COS taps Studio Swine for a blossoming installation in Milan

View of a woman in a grey sleeveless outfit surrounded by white bubbles and puffs of smoke in a space with a black background
For the next edition of Salone del Mobile, fashion brand COS will collaborate on an installation with Studio Swine
(Image credit: TBC)

Fashion brand COS has created immersive installations for Salone del Mobile each year since 2012. It worked with Nendo in 2014, Snarkitecture in 2015 and Sou Fujimoto for 2016; this year, British design duo Studio Swine are stepping up to the plate.

The interactive installations always nod to the fashion brand’s clean and refined aesthetic and this time is no different. Setting up in the theatrical setting of Milan's Cinema Arti, the duo will work on a multi-sensory experience – a ‘focal blossoming sculpture’ evoking sensuality, while also highlighting current cultural issues.

View of the back of a woman's head with long hair and a white bubble in a space with a black background

Studio Swine will draw on nature and the changing of seasons as inspiration

(Image credit: TBC)

‘2016 was a year full of changes and crisis, and so we wanted to create an installation that could offer a moment of contemplation,’ says Studio Swine's Alexander Groves and Azusa Murakami. ‘The inspiration for the installation was nature and the changing of the seasons. For us, this idea has such universal beauty. We aim to create a democratic experience which brings people together.'

As with Fujimoto’s ‘Forest of Light’ from last year and Snarkitecture's textile cave the year before, the installation appears to draw on the unique lightness of COS’s collections (or so the sneak peek video above would suggest).

View of an arm with the hand touching a puff of smoke in a space with a dark background

Watch a teaser of the what to expect from the nature-inspired installation...

(Image credit: TBC)

View of a woman in a grey sleeveless outfit with her hand above a puff of smoke resembling a cloud in a space with a black background

The installation will be a multi-sensory experience

(Image credit: TBC)

View of an arm surrounded by white bubbles in a space with a dark background

The immersive work will comprise a ’focal blossoming sculpture’

(Image credit: TBC)

INFORMATION

The installation will be on view from 4–9 April. For more information, visit the COS website and the Studio Swine website

Sujata Burman is a writer and editor based in London, specialising in design and culture. She was Digital Design Editor at Wallpaper* before moving to her current role of Head of Content at London Design Festival and London Design Biennale where she is expanding the content offering of the showcases. Over the past decade, Sujata has written for global design and culture publications, and has been a speaker, moderator and judge for institutions and brands including RIBA, D&AD, Design Museum and Design Miami/. In 2019, she co-authored her first book, An Opinionated Guide to London Architecture, published by Hoxton Mini Press, which was driven by her aim to make the fields of design and architecture accessible to wider audiences.