Studio Swine resurrects Fordlandia, Henry Ford’s lost Amazon utopia

American industrialist Henry Ford may have built a virtually untouchable automobile empire during his lifetime, but it’s his lesser-known – if no less fantastic – failures that perhaps most exemplify the full breadth of his ambitions. Seeking to subvert the British monopoly over rubber in the late 1920s, Ford was inspired to carve out a utopian pocket of Americana deep in the Amazon rainforest. On the banks of the Tapajós River, he established the prefabricated industrial town of Fordlandia.
The project was earmarked for failure from its inception. Notorious for his scorn for experts, the tycoon stubbornly refused to consult with agriculturalists on the viability of the land. (‘None of our men are "experts",’ he was known to have proclaimed of Ford Motor’s employees. ‘We have most unfortunately found it necessary to get rid of a man as soon as he thinks himself an expert because no one ever considers himself expert if he really knows his job.’)
When it became evident that rubber production would be impossible in the jungle, Fordlandia evolved into a social engineering experiment. From the wilderness sprouted an alien settlement that wouldn’t have felt out of place in small-town America, complete with a hospital, golf course, hotel, library and rows of white clapboard houses.
Still, the colony was plagued by discord in spite of its Stepford-like perfectness. Local workers were vexed by the strict restrictions imposed and enforced by inspectors – alcohol, tobacco, women and even football were forbidden within the town. Then there was the infamous Breaking Pans revolt of 1930, after labourers grew tired of being fed American-style hamburgers and canned food. Six years after its creation and $20 million later, Fordlandia was abandoned along with its ideals – until now.
This autumn, London-based design duo Studio Swine – helmed by Azusa Murakami and Alexander Groves – have conjured an alternate reality for Ford’s failed vision, in a recently launched exhibition at Fashion Space Gallery. In their reimagining of the Amazonian town, Fordlandia fulfills its destiny of intertwining nature and industry in ‘a symbiotic relationship’.
Studio Swine has produced a striking collection. Inspired by a visit to the exhibition’s namesake, the duo created a show based around a fictional Fordlandia worker’s home. Fittingly, the materials palette includes reclaimed Brazilian walnut, skins from pirarucu (an Amazonian fish) and, of course, rubber.
Still from a film by Juriaan Booij
As well as a specially commissioned film by Juriaan Booij, the pair have also collaborated with London College of Fashion graduate Emma Fenton Villar on a trio of denim work-wear jackets and a denim wall-hanging, and with student Erica Weide on a textiles screen.
Fordlandia remained largely uninhabited until the late 2000s. Today, the town is home to around nearly 3,000 people. ‘Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently,’ Ford once mused. In Studio Swine’s case, this certainly rings true.
The collection references the Brazilian modernist movement...
... and uses natural rubber, reclaimed Brazilian walnut, fish skins and other materials from the rainforest
Armchair made from ebonite, plywood and handwoven cane
The pieces are inspired by natural forms such as trees, roots and snakes, as well as industrial motifs, including exhaust pipes
Details of the ’Fordlandia’ collection
INFORMATION
‘Fordlandia’ is on view until 10 December. For more information, visit Studio Swine’s website
ADDRESS
London College of Fashion
Fashion Space Gallery
20 John Prince’s Street
London, W1G 0BJ
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Frieze London 2025: all the fashion moments to look out for
The best fashion happenings to add to your Frieze London 2025 schedule, from Dunhill’s curation of talks at Frieze Masters to an exhibition of furniture by Rick Owens
-
Artists reflect on Kate Bush lyrics for a War Child auction
Peter Doig and Maggi Hambling are among artists interpreting Kate Bush’s 1985 track ‘Running Up That Hill’ for War Child’s online auction
-
Explore Tom Kundig’s unusual houses, from studios on wheels to cabins slotted into boulders
The American architect’s entire residential portfolio is the subject of a comprehensive new book, ‘Tom Kundig: Complete Houses’
-
Rajan Bijlani opens his Primrose Hill home for ‘Electric Kiln’
In his London home – once the studio of ceramicist Emmanuel Cooper – Rajan Bijlani stages ‘Electric Kiln’, uniting Frank Auerbach, Lucie Rie and Cooper in an intimate reflection on the creative spirit of postwar London
-
These are the design exhibitions to see in London during Frieze Week
We round up the best design events happening in London in conjunction with Frieze Week 2025: discover collectible design and craft across the city
-
Aram Gallery spotlights a pioneering material that could be upholstered furniture’s less toxic future
At Aram Gallery for London Design Festival 2025, eight designers experiment with EcoLattice’s 3D-printed foam to showcase the material’s comfort, creativity, and everyday use
-
These benches are made from £2.5m worth of shredded banknotes
You could be sitting on a fortune this London Design Festival, as the Bank of England Museum explores the creative repurposing of waste with furniture made from decommissioned banknotes
-
Material Matters: Grant Gibson reflects on his popular design fair, about to open at LDF 2025
As Material Matters returns to London Design Festival from 17-21 September, we catch up with founder Grant Gibson to learn more about crucial material conversations in contemporary design
-
London Design Festival 2025: live updates from the Wallpaper* team
From 11-21 September, London is celebrating design in all its forms. Here's the latest news, launches and other goings-on from London Design Festival 2025, as seen by Wallpaper* editors
-
A family home turns into an immersive exhibition space for London Design Festival
Ceramicist Emma Louise Payne displays design in domestic surrounds for group show ‘The Objects We Live By’
-
Ramzi Mallat’s London Design Festival installation is a bittersweet ode to Beirut
Created as a memorial to the 2020 Beirut Port Blast, Mallat's ‘Not Your Martyr’ installation at the V&A (until 19 October 2025) is made of 260 colourful glass ma’amouls