IMM Cologne 2017: designers cultivate calm with their latest launches
Each year, IMM Cologne heralds the start of the design world’s blockbuster calendar of major fairs. The German fair’s annual centrepiece is its ’Das Haus’ exhibition (installation view pictured), exploring new ideas for living and domestics interiors, while challenging traditional set-ups. This year, the project was created by US designer Todd Bracher who collated a plethora of objets trouvè inspired by different domestic environments
One room of Bracher’s ’Das Haus’ exhibit presented a darker, more intimate living setting inspired by wellness traditions
Bracher devised a large, minimalist show space, enclosing his 200 sq m installation in a translucent pink mesh
Elsewhere at the fair, German furniture company E15 presented new pieces including seating by Philipp Mainzer and Farah Ebrahimi, shown in tandem with artworks by Michael Riedel
Highlighting the best of new designers’ works, the Pure Talents section featured these Terrazzo tables by Italian designer Alberto Bellamoli
Also part of Pure Talents were German duo Christoph Buomberger and Tobias Pfister whose ’Klappstuhl’ folding chair (foreground) was developed during the final year at the Academy of Art and Design in Basel, and Enzo Zak Lux’s ’Pico Balla’ series, featuring identical shelves whose look changes dramatically depending on how they are hung
Classicon’s booth featured Eileen Gray’s ’Centimetre Rug’ from 1926, presented among other reissues from the designer
Also at the fair, Cassina kickstarted the celebrations for its 90th anniversary, showing new seating that included a re-edition of Mario Bellini’s ’932’ armchair from the 1960s (left) and the sublimely-coloured ’ZH-One’ by the late Zaha Hadid (right)
Austrian furniture company Wittman worked with Spanish designer Jaime Hayon on a collection titled ’Wittman Hayon Workshop’ that merges the designer’s humorous shapes with the brand’s savoir faire
Elsewhere in Cologne, the Museum of Applied Arts paid tribute to German designer Stefan Diez with a solo exhibition
Titled ’Full House’, the show explores Diez’s experiments with technology and innovative manufacturing methods. The pieces on show included his ’New Order’ shelves for Hay, which were used as display elements throughout the exhibition
The exhibition, open until 11 June, takes over the museum’s three floors, and includes furniture, accessories, lighting and smaller objects
Meanwhile, design studio Kaschkasch celebrated its fifth anniversary with a retrospective
The exhibition included sketches and early prototypes of its products, including the ’Cap’ table lamp (pictured), which the firm designed for Normann Copenhagen in 2012
Back at IMM, B&B Italia showed new outdoor pieces including the ’Ginestra’ seating by Antonio Citterio
German company Cor’s booth
French rug maker CC Tapis showed new collaborations, including Garth Roberts’ ’After Party’ collection, right. Roberts’ abstract design (available on a black or cream background) was inspired by a confetti-strewn floor following a party
Also on show at CC Tapis were these two collections: the Venice-inspired ’Giudecca’ by Zanellato Bortotto (left) and the ’Zo’ by Zaven (right), referencing traditional African masks
Giorgetti took to the fair to unveil its debut outdoors collection, designed by Chi Wing Lo and Ludovica and Roberto Palomba, one of the company’s most ambitious projects which combines new designs with the works of its in-house artisans
Presented by German storage brand Piure, the ’Mesh’ shelving system is imagined for the workspace and features stained glass and perforated metal in a new colour palette
Nya Nordiska also showed new collections, developed under Sebastian Herkner’s creative direction and inspired by the world’s most exciting cities. These included the ’Soho’ line...
...and the ’Piccadilly’ collection
The ’Christie’ collection by Italian lighting company Nahoor
Jan Kath’s new rug experiments featured shapes that defy traditional rectangular designs. Its ’Dresses’ collection (shown here in its Bochum showroom) was inspired by the Far East and made by hand in Nepal
Also by Herkner were new pieces for Ames Sala. Titled ’Caribe’, the collection was inspired by South American aesthetics and handmade in Colombia