Some times ago we have visited cult place for all the Mollino`s and design fans. Casa Mollino is the wonderful interior masterpiece of the hedonist lifestyle.
It is the last Carlo Mollino`s private apartment he designed for himself and all his passions. Today, the curators Fulvio and Napoleone Ferrari, our old good friends, take care of the place and serve guided tours for everybody interested in.
Our pictures represent our own look at the apartment, all his details and secrets.
For the launch of our Mollino book featured in the last story we have prepared this small installation related to the book, as well as some aspects of Mollino`s life.
The installation we created in the 3DH furniture showroom for the occasion of the presentation only. It included original Mollino`s Cavour table which is in the production of Zanotta now, as well as several books on Mollino or special designed prints showing visual style of the book and its paper models.
Again thanks 3DH showroom, Studio Činčera and Signpek print.
Photo Filip Šlapal
Carlo Mollino represents one of the most authentic creative figures of the last century. Mollino became a modern Renaissance man whose production embraced the entire cultural and technological world of his time thanks to his undisguised love of life and everything that our world offers. For us in OKOLO, the artist personifies a phenomenal medium of creativity and entertainment, which presents a broad spectrum of most our interests through the life of a single person.
This book and original products serve as our tribute to the master. We pay tribute to a hedonist who managed to enjoy life to the fullest, surrounded by everything he was fascinated and amused by.
The book, which presents the work of Carlo Mollino in a different way than usual, is divided into six basic chapters, i.e. six life stages and six of Mollino’s passions. Apart from a text on a specific theme, each part brings a materialized symbol of Mollino’s creativity. Thus, the reader can assemble miniature models of Mollino’s fascinating projects, implementations, and symbols related to Mollino’s life. Paper models serve to update the versatile activities of the charming Italian and place his work into a new context. Mollino will be gradually presented as a visionary designer, excellent architect, courageous race driver, fearless acrobatic pilot, style-setting skier, photographer and womanizer. Mollino is a phenomenon.
The book was created in the collaboration with Studio Činčera, Signpek print and 3DH furniture showroom. Thanks!
This week is "Mollino week" for us. We will present you one and only Carlo Mollino and all our projects related to him. We start with the present from Fulvio and Napoleone Ferrari.
Our friends from Casa Mollino in Turin sent us their greetings for the new year with the exceptional discovery.
Their work in the Mollino`s archive is the never-ending process. This time they found Carlo`s original shopping list with the very interesting items to buy. One of them is Channel Number 5 perfume which Mollino probably used for his beautiful models to shoot. Small reproduction of the Mollino`s nude is also included in the our greetings.
Thanks very much!
In the recent time we found several Japanese essentials around us. We selected them and made this styling mosaic of our actual Japanese inspiration.
1.
Influence of the Japanese contemporary architecture
Contemporary Japanese architecture is very powerful today. Every day you can find many new Japanese houses featured on design blogs. All of them are beautiful and discover new space possibilities and living habits. Czech studio A1 Architects is also influenced by Japanese architectural environment. One of their recent projects is the Hut tea house in Ostrava (model pictured), which illustrates some of the main ideas of Japanese architecture: minimalist space, craft work, traditional rituals, materials.
2.
Japanese modernists and conceptual spaces
Above we talk about contemporary Japanese dwelling architecture which is highly conceptual. But all of that starts many years ago with work of some celebrated Japanese modernist architects. One of them is Kazuo Shinohara (1925 - 2006). His architecture was based on philosophy and theory very much. In the recent published book titled Kazuo Shinohara, Houses by 2G you can find really interesting examples of his domestic architecture through his whole career.
3.
New playfulness by Muji
Global brand without label, Muji, has prepared several new toys including collaboration with lego, wooden puzzles inspired by Enzo Mari`s famous designs or these cardboard animals which you can assemble very easily.
4.
Stationary revolution by Midori
We wrote about Midori products some times ago. But now we have good reason to remind them. Our friends from Denim Heads store based in Prague delivered first Midori products to Czech customers. Do not hesitate and come to buy exclusive envelopes, brass pens or notebooks and diaries.
5.
Design domination from Nendo
Tokyo-based studio Nendo was one of the busiest designers this year. He collaborated on many products and exhibitions including chandelier for Czech company Lasvit or its own exhibition called Textured Transparencies at Salone del Mobile in Milan (pictured). No doubt that the studio won annual Wallpaper design awards as The Best design of the year.
6.
Wonderful hand-made denim
Via Prague-based denim store Denim Heads we know something more about the unique Japanese denim. Store sells denim from Japan Blue or Momotaro, whose denim calendar we have on the wall (pictured).
7.
New patterns
From Ijin Material, London-based denim brand inspired by the best from the Japanese denim goods, comes this delicate shirt.
Sori Yanagi was a great designer and true man. He passed away last december in the age of 96.
As a small tribute to him, we present his Kopf can opener here as a brilliant example of his every day, ordinary as well as durable and functional approach to the product design. This opener received "Good design award" in 1998.
Rest in Piece!
We have selected some extraordinary models from the new Melissa collection for Spring 2012.
Brazilian brand continues to collaborate with the young fashion creatives from all around the world. This time Mellisa approached New York-based talent Gareth Pugh famous for his avant-garde haute-couture pieces and Taiwan born and also New York-based Jason Wu.
Both designers have created shoes in their specific style. Pugh redesigned Ultragirl shoes with flashy and dynamic geometric pattern. On the other hand Jason Wu is always tender and elegant as his fashion models. His Ultragirl comes with the decoration of the small owl and Lady Dragon model with small silver ribbon on tiptoes.
In Czech republic, all the models including retro inspired Melissa Piece and many others from this new collection are exclusively available in Bella Brutta store or on their e-shop.
We have approached young artist and illustrator Jana Trávníčková to help us with the project for The Prague-based fashion store Bella Brutta and one of its representative brands, Brazilian shoes icon Melissa.
The result is the series of graphic collages where Melissa shoes are used as beautiful shapes and colors elements and together set up the rich world of passion and dynamism inspired not only by the Brazilian living and nature.
In collaboration with Bella Brutta fashion boutique, we would like to pay homage to the iconic Brazilian Melissa shoes. You will certainly take their unmistakable material, shapes, and specific fragrance to heart. Melissa has elicited a revolution in the design of ladies’ shoes over the last decade and shifted them into new designer contexts by means of such an ordinary, yet unique material in their version as plastic. The Brazilian brand started to cooperate with local designers in the beginning. After launching products designed by the great Campana brothers in 2005 on the occasion of 25 years of its existence, the brand appealed to many other designers who were able to interpret a plastic shoe in a specific way. Since then, the brand has collaborated with such prominent figures as Zaha Hadid, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, and legendary Italian designer Gaetano Pesce. Thus, all of them, plus the in-house designer team, have contributed to creating a contemporary fashion icon, which links the ordinary with ingenious ideas from the world of top design and fashion. The plastic icon can be purchased in Bella Brutta boutique.
Bella Brutta is an original fashion boutique that offers original and less known world brands in the Czech Republic. Apart from Melissa, one can find products from such brands as Custo Barcelona, Scotch&Soda, EMU, Sanita, Sita Murt and others.
More about Bella Brutta and Melissa in our OKOLO Vienna Only magazine.
Stay tuned and see new Melissa shoes for the upcoming season in the next post!
For these cold days, Barbisio Pichler hat is the perfect warm up gear. Designed and made in Italy, Pichler hat comes from Innovation line of Barbisio company which was established in 1862. The hat is upgraded by the wool protectors for your ears. Still elegant and classic, yet new, innovative and cool!