Inspired by the optimism of the 1990s, the ‘T4’ collection by London-based architecture practice Holloway Li in collaboration with Turkish manufacturer Uma features candy hues and a playful design. The collection also marks the furniture debut for the practice, led by interior architects Alex Holloway and Na Li, and was originally unveiled during London Design Festival 2022 at their space within The Market Building in Clerkenwell.
Cool Britannia and 1990s design icons such as inflatable chairs and lava lamps, as well as TV references (think Big Brother’s Diary Room or ‘the golden era of the chat show sofa’) form the basis for the collection which, the architects explain, ‘is an homage to the visual language of colourful onscreen scenography that dominated before the turn of the millenium’.
The modular seats are defined by an inviting, warm palette with shades including Melon Yellow, Blush Pink, Overground Orange and Cream Soda, and feature a bold fibreglass base with an upholstered seat and back in the same colour. Uma’s expertise lies in the production of moulded composites used in the automotive industry (as well as London buses), and every piece is hand-finished at its Izmir factory.
‘Our factory provides an extraordinary testing ground for designers where their ideas can be realised,’ comments Uma founder Steph Gallia. ‘Holloway Li’s playful and future-facing aesthetic and our technical know-how have resulted in the creation of lightweight banquettes with a stony finish for the hotel rooms of [London’s] Bermonds Locke, and the brightly coloured red and amber resin panels that currently stand tall in the shopfront of The Market Building.’
The designs are available as single seats, corner modules as well as other elements that can be combined to create a multitude of compositions. ‘It’s been a pleasure to collaborate with Uma on realising our first standalone modular furniture collection,’ say the designers.
‘As a studio, we’re always looking to film and television to tell new stories through design. In creating the series, we wanted to reference our childhood memories of the optimism of the 1990s Big Brother era and the colourful brash scenography that dominated our screens growing up; transporting this joyful nostalgia into our homes.’
INFORMATION
-
Vestre’s neo-brutalist furniture will bring ‘a little madness’ to Paris Fashion WeekBound for Paris Men’s Fashion Week this month, Norwegian furniture brand Vestre reveals a sculptural bench and mirror created with designer Vincent Laine and fashion creative Willy Cartier – the latest outcome of its risk-taking ‘a little madness’ initiative
-
For its latest runway show, Zegna creates a serene oasis in DubaiThe Italian fashion house took over the Dubai Opera for a S/S 2026 show that proposed a lived-in elegance, drawing inspiration from Dubai’s sunbaked landscapes and Zegna’s birthplace of Trivero
-
Time-travel to the golden age of the cruise ship at Sea Containers LondonThe South Bank hotel celebrates its tenth anniversary with four new suites inspired by period cabin design, from Edwardian elegance to 1980s glamour
-
The Stuff That Surrounds, episode two: Inside the home of Vyrao founder Yasmin SewellIn The Stuff That Surrounds, Wallpaper* explores a life through objects. For our second episode, we’re invited into the fragrance founder and CEO’s viridescent London home
-
Haller-lujah! USM is reimagined by Buchanan StudioThe Swiss modular furniture brand has collaborated for the first time with a UK-based design studio, and the tessellating results are spectacular
-
Tour the Italian ambassador’s redesigned London apartmentNick Vinson is behind the dazzling overhaul of this ambassador’s apartment, a happy marriage of past and present, and a celebration of Italy’s rich design legacy
-
Discover midcentury treasures in Marylebone with Álvaro by AppointmentLondon is full of sequestered design havens, and Wallpaper* knows them all. Allow us to point you in the direction of Álvaro González’s shop window on Nottingham Place, home to a bonanza of beautiful 20th-century antiques
-
Step inside one of the Peninsula Residences: comfort meets luxury in LondonWarmth permeates this exclusive address – one of 24 residences attached to The Peninsula London hotel, and the latest stop for Wallpaper’s interior design series, The Inside Story
-
Exploring this whimsical North London home feels like going down the rabbit holeWallpaper* series, The Inside Story, spotlights intriguing, exciting or innovative interiors. OntheSq is the result of a renovation of a beautiful period property, which has been dressed in a mélange of designs loosely inspired by 'Alice in Wonderland'
-
Introducing Wallpaper’s new video series, The Stuff That SurroundsIn The Stuff That Surrounds, Wallpaper* explores a life through objects. First up, we go inside the eclectic London flat of creative director and designer Veronica Ditting
-
Tamart’s ‘Clore’ floor lamp revives a modernist lighting classicTamart debuts the 'Clore' floor lamp, a handblown glass design originally created in 1963 for Sir Charles Clore's London penthouse
