ANDRÉ FU LIVING TO PRESENT THE NEW ART DECO GARDEN COLLECTION DURING MILAN DESIGN WEEK 2021
5TH – 12TH SEPTEMBER 2021
This September as part of Milan Design Week, André Fu Living will present its new collection, Art Deco Garden at Palazzo Visconti.
The new collection, which debuts globally this September, brings André’s design skills to his own furniture, textiles, lighting and tableware. Drawing inspirations from Fu’s love for the Art Deco movement and his personal passion for cultivated Zen gardens in Kyoto, André Fu reveals a synergy between the two visually contrasting concepts. Through deconstruction and re-imagination, the new collection is brought to life with a multi-category offering that showcases the evolving language of the brand.
"My personal design approach is not just about combining styles together; rather, it rests on an ability to navigate different cultures and reflect contemporary culture based on the inherent qualities of beauty itself, as opposed to just based on any one style. We are thrilled to share the results of our exploration into the world of ‘Art Deco Garden’ through a selection of delicately crafted objects and homeware for the upcoming collection." says André Fu.
Fu conducted in-depth research of the historical Japanese Zen gardens before designing the collection. These romantic gardens, in particular the Tofukuji Temple Garden, demonstrate a visual composition that utilises nature as a raw material, resulting in a fascinating series of lyrical spaces. In particular, André was inspired by the Zen garden’s masterful use of pebbles: their fluid and continuous lines evoking the sense of visual movement, as well as a feeling of inner serenity.
Fu found a subtle visual similarity from the use of pattern in the Art Deco movement - an era of excitement and glamour characterised by bold and rigid geometric forms in symmetrical compositions. Their intricate lines, through the interplay of round and diagonal lines, similarly evokes rich layering and a sense of movement.
“In the new collection, I was interested in exploring if there is a means to reinterpret the Art Deco silhouettes against the sensibility of Zen gardens. In many ways, I want to deconstruct the Art Deco formal patterns with the sensuous movement characteristic of Zen gardens. It intrigued me to juxtapose the two highly distinct and culturally different design elements.”
One of the highlights of the new collection is André’s collaboration with the British heritage hand-painted artisan de Gournay, which features as a wallpaper itself, as well as part of a number of the key pieces of furniture in the range - including a new screen and cabinets, which will be shown as part of the Milan presentation.
André has chosen to work with the renowned British wallcovering studio, recognising the company’s longstanding vision to fuse cultures and styles as a perfect match to what AFL is striving to explore. The highly-skilled artisans at de Gournay have encapsulated André’s imagination of a Zen garden, infused with the hallmark silhouettes of Art Deco motifs into surprising designs. The murals are available in three types of silk paper - silver blue, terra brown and champagne beige. Each panel is individually hand-painted and garnished with gold and silver gilding to elevate the artistic quality. These panels are seen throughout the furniture designs, including the screen and cabinets shown at Palazzo Visconti.
In Milan, Fu will also show 2 new armchairs – Hana and Ichou - inspired by the sensuous silhouette of the Japanese landscape upholstered in fine fabrics by Loro Piana to accentuate the sense of luxury.
In addition to the furniture on display, Fu will also show new porcelain tableware that features as part of Art Deco Garden. The new tableware conveys the essence of the collection theme through a range of hand-painted patterns in a palette of almond taupe and mink brown, embellished with a dash of gold gilding.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Palazzo Visconti
Via Cino del Duca 8, 20122 Milano
Opening Dates/Times:
3 - 10 September, 10:00 - 20:00
About the brand André Fu Living
André Fu Living [AFL] marks architect André Fu foray into a world of lifestyle offering that goes beyond his spatial creations.
‘It is not about imposing a lifestyle, it is a personal expression of living.’ says Fu.
The brand seeks to celebrate the notion of lifestyle with a multi-category collection, from tableware, bed linens to furniture and decorative lighting. The collection celebrates Fu’s personal life and taps into his exploration of a world that embraces his design language of relaxed luxury.
The branding itself has adopted a calligraphic approach with an intent to evoke handcrafted values with a nod to Asian typography scripts. The ‘A’ ‘F’ ‘L’ are combined into a rotationally symmetrical monogram, which allows products to be subtly branded in the manner of a jeweller’s hallmark.
About André Fu
‘To me, true luxury is in the experience and not just the aesthetics.’
Known for his modernist sensibilities and distinctive ability to bring a calm simplicity to interior spaces, architect André Fu has been the influence behind some of the world’s most luxurious hotels and restaurants.
Fu became known overnight when he first redefined notions of hospitality with his design of the world-renowned Upper House hotel in Hong Kong. His seemingly effortless creations range from a unique furniture collaboration with Louis Vuitton’s Objets Nomades collection to contemporary art galleries in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai, and major hotels and restaurants around the world for leading brands including Villa La Coste in Provence, The Berkeley London, St Regis Hong Kong, Waldorf Astoria Bangkok, as well as the newly opened Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto.
Fu’s work has won increasing recognition with numerous awards. In 2016, he was named Designer of the Year for Maison & Objet Asia, and was honoured in Wallpaper*s list of ‘Top 20 Interior Designers’. In 2019, Elle Décor China has named André as “Interior Designer of The Year”.
With the establishment of André Fu Living, his vision seeks to translate the brand into different areas of lifestyle – a vision to embrace a genuine expression of ‘lifestyle from within’.
Judith Fereday