AT ARmANI/tEATRo WENt ON STaGE THE nEW ARMAnI/CASa COLLeCTIoN

Text by: Annarosa Laureti

After inaugurated “The Challenge” exhibition – completely dedicated to the architecture and the work of Tadao Ando – Armani continues to honor the East during Design Week. The new “Nature and the East” collection, in fact, is a continuous recall to Japanese iconography.

Set far one from another, the collection’s items, as actors on a stage, enlightened inside the dark space of the theatre, are shown near high scenographic kites reproducing the furniture’ shapes and colors.

Armani house is an elegant and very rigorous place where nothing is left to chance: precious dining set with geometrical or decorative motifs are matched with grey Murano glasses; soft satin embroidered plaids are laid down on the metalized green “Oris” bed; the “Oriente” carpet reproduces an Eastern foggy landscape which looks like a real painting; even table games are pieces of art, such as the labyrinth “Oracle”, in leather and walnut, and the “Oneiros” memory game, composed by 28 couples that reproduce Armani Privé collection’s sketches.

Light and fluency are indeed the key words of the furniture collection: stiff materials such as wood and leather become soft and malleable taking on fluid shapes, like in the “Onda” chaise longue, which is more than a simply seat, but a sea wave…

Pure lines sleekness, as well as precious matters, mark the Armani studio composed by the “Olivia” desk, in spotted green shell with brass edges or in black larch wood – available in both small and large version – and the “Onyx” bookcase with its light satin-finish brass load-bearing and outer panels in onyx-textured metal.

Living proposals, indeed, see iconic pieces dressed up with a renovated design, such as the “Riesling” bar cabinet that now shows a new tubular structure and panels embellished with black and ivory resin details resembling the ripples that raindrops make on the water surface.

Finally, always taking care about traditions and craftsmanship, Armani/Casa doesn’t ignore the importance of innovation technology: for the very first time in fact the collection presents also an electronic accessory, the “Occhio” valet tray, with a matte black lacquered wood base, not only to place small loose objects, but also to charge your mobile phone.

 

Cover: Armani/Casa, “Nature and the East” Collection, Photo Fabrizio Nannini, Courtesy of Armani