Monday, May 21, 2012

Hunt and Gather: Moroso

Well, we've been back from Milan for quite some time, but between fun client projects and moving the office, Fig's been swamped.  In better late than never fashion, here's the beginning of a series of posts with  our Milan discoveries.

The Moroso showroom, one of our first stops in the Zona Tortona and specially transformed for design week, hosted "Way of the Water Dragon" (fitting due to torrential downpours all week!) and created a sensory-based experience for waterlogged visitors.  Let's just say that hour I spent on my hair was ill-conceived.  The saturated crimson entry vestibule was dotted with lightweight steel stools (product name unknown) and columns of clean, white light highlighting material transformation.



From the installation designer:
"From ancient Chinese tales, the physical form of the dragon is all-elusive and ever-changing. Therefore the way of the water dragon is hidden. What is visible for us would only be the metamorphosis of the movement of the water dragon. Hence the dragon here is not seen as a physical and explicit image but as a conceptualization of the idea of movement.This idea of movement is marked by Zhang Ke's rhythmic and abstract ink-water calligraphy work, which derives into multiple forms such as the "Dots" stole and the "Hidden Dragon" sofa. The ink-water work is further projected onto foldable screens that redefine the space of the main room, a moment of the movement captured in a sinuous shape in the center of the scene.What hits the eyes of the spectator is the intriguing interrelationship between the strong dynamism represented by the ink-water traces and the floating form of the furniture piece "Hidden Dragon"." Zhang Ke


One standout theme we discovered during our Milan adventure was the strong desire to veg-out on these beautifully upholstered seating clusters found throughout the city.  We were not alone.  We saw people actually napping in the middle of showrooms.  This may be high-style, fast-paced Milan, but it appears some designers checked their dignity at the door.  The Hidden Dragon sofa was certainly nap-worthy with it's steep-angle back and morphous silhouette.  I found the soft wool upholstery to be similar to Maharam's Divina.

Once through the installation section of the event, Moroso offered a more standard showroom experience highlighting new pieces and treatments on familiar offerings.  I finally had the chance to test drive Patricia Urguiola's Fjord lounge (in a new super floral) and can attest that is sit's beautifully.  It's much softer in person and would do well paired with more traditional lines.  We saw a lot of deconstruction and bohemian texture here, and appreciated the heavy layering and play with transparency here.





Ombre is still a hot trend with high-end manufacturers (as it is with the DIY set) and Moroso's application was certainly eye-catching.  Paired with sam-fabric pillows this sofa would do well in a hospitality or creative office environment.





Overall, the Moroso showroom offered a plethora of highly usable products and trademark edgy material quality.  I could see these used as statement pieces in the Portland market-  definitely not out of reach.

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