On day three of the Salone del Mobile, we couldn't help but notice a lovely brunette donning a crystal crusted dress and lipstick red patent leather Mary Jane shoes in the window of Milan's Le Dictateur gallery. The gallery is run by photographer and professional jokester Pierpaolo Ferrari, while the winsome woman turned out to be none other than Italian architect Fabio Novembre dressed in drag.
Novembre used the tiny one-room gallery space as a live theater event to unveil 'Lapsus' - his latest carpet-chaise lounge design produced in a limited edition by Gufram.
The design, the designer and the evening's entire orchestration was fraught with psychological implications and the kind of humorous high jinx we need to see more of during Milan's Salone.
Typically known for his blatantly heterosexual Italian masculinity, Novembre was donning panty hose and a purse, while his wife, model and blogger Candela was dressed as a skinny little boy in a cropped black suit.
In his female garb, the designer dramatically sprawled himself across Lapsus, a carpet-covered lounge chair inspired by Le Corbusier's famous design and Sigmund Freud's shrink sofa. Even the pattern on the carpet overlay got into the act - it was inspired by inkblots used in the famous Rorschach pyschological test whereby doctors are able to determine whether you are mentally insane or not.
Novembre, it turns out, is perfectly sane and just a playful prankster. He finished off the evening at a topless bar called La Carrozzeria (Italian for 'autobody shop') trailed by an enormous gaggle of his followers.
From that point on, we really can't say what happened.
The poster for the event, designed by Federico Pepe and featuring It shows 'Lapsus', Novembre's latest carpet-chaise lounge, produced in a limited edition by Gufram
Left: Fabio Novembre and Vogue Japan editor-at-large Anna Dello Russo. Right: Vogue Italia editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani.
Left: model and blogger Candela Novembre and Fabio Novembre. Right: actress Benedetta Mazzini, Fabio Novembre, Barbara Berlusconi, and fashion designer Ennio Capasa.
Fabio Novembre sits on the 'Jolly Roger' armchair designed by his studio for Gufram
A dancer from members' club La Carrozzeria (Italian for 'autobody shop'), which played host to the after party
Fashion blogger Eleonora Carisi and Candela Novembre
Designer Alessandra de Tomaso; Gufram owner Charley Vezza; Fabio Novembre; Eleonora Carisi; Goga Ashkenazi; Francesca Versace; Candela Novembre and Pietro Ruffini
Actress Carolina Crescentini and Pierpaolo Ferrari
55DSL creative director Andrea Rosso.
Actor Francesco Mandelli.
-
First look: Vyrao’s latest neuroscientific fragrance bottles the grounding effect of a digital detoxVyrao’s earthy new fragrance ‘Mamajuju’ provides sensory respite from screen time. Lara Johnson-Wheeler speaks with brand founder Yasmin Sewell for a Wallpaper* preview
-
Kengo Kuma’s new Kyoto hotel is ‘a sanctuary of ethereal beauty’A former ryokan inn, Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto offers onsen rooms equipped with natural hot spring water, and a contemporary take on a Noh theatre
-
Frieze London 2024: everything to see and doAs London gears up for Frieze Week (7-13 October 2024), here are the must-sees inside and outside the fair
-
Faye Toogood brings new life to Matisse’s legacyMilan Design Week 2023: tapped by Maison Matisse, the London-based designer has taken inspiration from the French master’s forms to create a collection of heirloom-worthy objects
-
Prada Frames 2023: Milan programme announcedProgramme announced for Prada Frames 2023 at Milan Design Week, the annual symposium curated by Formafantasma at Luigi Caccia Dominioni's Teatro Filodrammatici from 17 to 19 April
-
Alessi Occasional Objects: Virgil Abloh’s take on cutleryBest Cross Pollination: Alessi's cutlery by the late designer Virgil Abloh, in collaboration with his London studio Alaska Alaska, is awarded at the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2023
-
Salone del Mobile 2023: highlights from Milan Design WeekIn pictures: our highlights from Milan Design Week, held during the 61st Salone del Mobile 2023 (18-23 April)
-
USM launches blushing pink limited edition of its modular furnitureFollowing an installation during Milan Design Week 2022, USM launches a new pink limited edition of its Haller range
-
‘You don't want space; you want to fill it’: Milan exhibitionMaking its debut during Milan Design Week 2022 at Marsèll Paradise, a new exhibition by Matylda Krzykowski, explores how we approach the space we live in (until 15 July 2022)
-
Kohler and Daniel Arsham brought experiential art to Milan Design WeekLooking back on Daniel Arsham and Kohler’s Divided Layers installation, and the brand’s latest bathroom collection
-
Men’s mental health takes centre stage at an art and design exhibition by Tableau‘Confessions’, which travels to Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design following its debut at Milan Design Week 2022, features commissioned work by 14 male artists, designers and architects, reflecting on toxic masculinity, vulnerability and mental health
