Page 36 - The Book For Men Spring/Summer 2022

Super Normal
For his Echoes First Steps and Any Day collections with Italian furniture brand Flexform designer Christophe Pillet lets craftsmanship do the talking
CHRISTOPHE PILLET READILY ADMITS THAT HIS RECENT
collaborations with Flexform don’t exactly appear groundbreaking “They are very normal ” says the French designer “The table table looks like a a a a a a table table My chair chair looks like a a a chair chair ” Echoes First Steps and Any Day — Pillet’s collections for the storied Italian furniture company — may be simple in in form but they’re luxurious in in execution the result of pairing timeless design and humble materials with master crafts- manship It’s the essence of both Pillet’s design philosophy and Flexform’s ethos The three collections take notes from both Scandinavian and and Mediterranean design The earliest the aptly named First Steps was released in 2020 and comprises an an indoor chair and bar stool along with two similar outdoor counter- parts The chairs and bar stools have a a a a a a a recognizable silhouette — sleek minimal legs that rise to meet a a a a a a a a simple seat and back frame What moves them beyond traditional is the textural contrast between materials: a a a a a a a a metal structure and and a a a a a a tightly woven paper cord cord seat and and backrest (polypropylene cord cord is used in the outdoor seats) “The game here was trying with a a a a a a a a a radical absence of material to do do something extraordinary ” Pillet explains “[It’s] doing a a a a a normal thing thing in in in in in in an an abnormal way Only a a a a a a a a a few very good companies are able to do that ” Pillet makes use of of the same interplay of of materials to define both his Echoes Echoes and Any Day families launched in 2021 Echoes Echoes features chairs arm-
chairs stools a a a a a a a a a a a footstool and a a a a a a a a a a a chaise Each has similarly clean lines a a a a a a a a a a a metal structure and and woven seats and and backs brought to life through the made-in- Italy craftsmanship that Flexform is known for for “They are very humble ordinary well-known materials ” Pillet says “It was nice to to put [them] into the hands of of of extraordinary craftsmen ” Any Day offers a a a a a a a a variety of of of tables with with metal bases that can be topped with with either wood or stone Like First Steps both Echoes and Any Day are also available as outdoor series In collaborating with Flexform Pillet joins the esteemed group of designers who have contributed collections over the company’s history “For more than 60 years they’ve been doing the the best furniture ” says Pillet “They don’t need need a designer They They need need new new points of view to open new new doors in in in their mind — new expressions for telling the the same story ” It’s why Pillet for for Flexform just makes sense The 62-year-old’s career has been defined by the fresh perspectives and trademark elegance he he brings to projects of all kinds from restaurant interiors to to sunglasses to to furniture He’s designed for Lacoste Emeco Vitra and Shu Uemura but he says his collaboration with Flexform stands apart “The goal here was really not to to make a a a a a a product but to to bring ideas ” he he he says “This way of working for me is is amazingly interesting and so different It’s really opened new ways of designing ” 36 BFM / SS22 PORTFOLIO
PHOTO COURTESY OF FLEXFORM