Ahead of the opening of the iSaloni WorldWide exhibitionMoscow 2015 (October 14-17) we recall the most interesting events and phenomena of world design, shown at the same exhibition in Milan. Especially for the readers of etk-fashion.com, the editor-in-chief of the portal Oksana Kashenko interviewed the owner of the only glass furniture factory in the world Fiam — Vittorio Livi and the famous Italian architect Dante Benini. The subject of the interview was the incredible curved mirrors, which we expect to see at the exhibition in Moscow. The conversation turned out to be not about architecture, and not about industrial design, in which both interlocutors are front-row figures, but about an amazing project born in the union of both disciplines with plastic art. Phantom and Christine from the Fiam factory promise to become the most desired design object of the season — their photos immediately after the Milan exhibition flew around, if not the whole world, then all social networks. The collection was created by contemporary sculptor Helidon Xhixha, architects Dante Oscar Benini and Luca Gonzo and designer Vittorio Livi, owner and founder of the Fiam factory. Each contributed their own theme, and together they created a music of light and reflections from the musical “The Phantom of the Opera”.
From left to right:Helidon Hicks, Vittorio Livi, Dante Benini Vittorio Livi, designer and founder of Fiam Vittorio Livi is a symbolic and unconventional figure for Italy. On the one hand, he is one of those who are called living classics of world design. But you don’t see Italians like that. On the other hand, he is a completely atypical classic. In the realm of the richest traditions of wood and leather, he began to produce glass furniture and combined two national traditions at once. And he did it defiantly and avant-garde. And, of course, he became a star. His glass bends and twists like plastic, but remains glass. And it can be used in everyday life just like any traditional object. Livi got into the glassblowing workshop as a child, 14 years old, not so much by vocation as by necessity - after the war, he was the only man in a large family. And he believes that it was this difficult experience that helped him achieve so much in life. The very first glass chair, Ghost, brought him fame and a solid profit. At various times, Fiam collaborated with famous designers, from Vico Magistretti to . This is no longer just furniture, but a whole philosophy reflecting the lifestyle of a modern fetishist. For example, the Illusion table, produced in 1992, was recently auctioned off for $50,000 and now adorns the collection of the Pompidou Center in Paris. Among Fiam's creations are mirror TVs, curved crystal tables, and weightless and elegant office accessories. The engine of all these wonders is a successful businessman, talented designer, and simply incredibly energetic Italian, Vittorio Livi. fiamitalia.it
Fiam chair
Mirror and stand Fiam
— Your new mirrors have become a sensation, nohaving appeared not only on sale, but also at an exhibition in Milan. It is impossible to believe that these amazing sculptures are made of glass. How was this project born? - The idea came to my long-time partner, the architect Dante Benini, who loves Xix's sculptures and our glass works. He felt that they could be combined, but did not know how. Then he introduced us. At first, it was quite difficult to understand each other, because glass is not clay, not stone, a completely different material. But in Helidon's work, the main thing is light, its reflections, and the music that it is capable of creating. And here glass has no equal. One day, I brought the sculptor to my studio and made a kind of study out of glass, blew a form that reminded me of his creations. He was so surprised and fascinated by the possibilities of our material that he offered to sign my glass sketch. He told me then that he could do such a work himself, if he knew how. And we realized what we needed to do next: learn from each other. Of course, we spent a long time refining the technology. Unlike sculpture, we make a serial product, albeit a limited edition. Something that needs to be used in everyday life, and not just admired. This is the main difference between industrial design, even the best, and art.
Mirror Christine, Fiam
Mirror Christine, Fiam - This is verya bold, experimental project. You took a big risk, didn't you? - There is always a risk when you are passionate about something serious. But I'll tell you this. By releasing these mirrors, we demonstrated the incredible possibilities of our favorite material. To such an extent that now some gallery owners and designers come to me and ask me to help them create something not serial, but unique, individual, purely collectible. But I'm not very interested in this. After all, I am an industrial designer. And I really like this idea of bringing a little real art into the house in the form of an object that you use every day. Look, these mirrors come alive, because the author found harmony in them, like a composer in music. I myself really like such things.
Mirror Phantom, Fiam
Mirror Phantom, Fiam — Can I ask youa personal and traditional question for our portal, which we ask all our hero designers? Which room in your own home do you prefer to all the others? And why? — In my house there is a large hall, flooded with light — a day zone, which starts from the kitchen and goes into the sofa, with a comfortable table and shelves full of books. This zone is separated from the rest of the house. And I often lock myself inside. This is my creative workshop. There I turn on music, read, sometimes write and draw. It is at such moments, when harmony with myself is achieved, that my best thoughts and discoveries come to me. This is the creative process. Then I can finish and clarify something in a more working atmosphere, in the office at the table, or get up at night and finish writing, thinking, drawing. But it all starts there. By the way, this was the case with mirrors. They have their own story and let the author of the idea, Dante Benini, tell it to you better.
Mirror Christine, Fiam
Mirror Phantom, Fiam Dante Oscar Benini,architect, Dante O. Benini & Partners Architects The famous Italian architect, head of the Dante O. Benini & Partners Architects bureau, built no fewer iconic buildings in his lifetime than Livi made pieces of furniture. His company, according to Forbes magazine, is among the hundred best architectural firms in the world. Benini received his architectural education in the studio of perhaps the most famous Italian architect of the 60s - Carlo Scarpa, then worked for the no less famous Brazilian Oscar Niemeyer, and later - in the studio of Frank Gehry. And yet, the ideas of Scarpa, who considered architecture a way of artistic design of the environment, which must be treated as carefully as possible, turned out to be closer to Benini than others. His buildings are not very similar in appearance, but they are all fundamentally similar: "green", airy, full of light and . Among his works, for example, the famous "breathing house" in Milan and the "passive" pharmacology research center in Turkey. dantebeniniarchitects.com
Milan, architect D. Benini
Residential complex "Art", Krasnogorsk, architect D. Benini
Istanbul, architect D.Benini — Tell us, why The Phantom of the Opera? Where do these images come from? — I love this musical very much. It has amazing music and a very Italian story: passionate, beautiful and laconic. I always wanted to use it, but I didn’t immediately understand how. The idea was given to me by mirrors. As an architect, I can’t help but love mirrors: they are a unique tool that reflects light, creates a mood and is very symbolic. Think about it, every morning we talk to our mirrors. You see yourself beautiful and energetic — and the world smiles at you. Something is wrong — and your mood immediately drops. And I came up with this fantasy: a mirror that can be both beautiful and distorting reality at the same time, like the face of the phantom from the opera. And to pair it with a mirror-Christina, a beautiful muse. I came up with an architectural image, but I needed a person who would help me give this image a precise form. And I knew only one such person - a sculptor who helps me fill my buildings with magnificent figures. That's how it happened.
Mirror Phantom, Fiam
Phantom Mirror, Fiam — But you couldjust make a sculpture, an individual art object. Why mirrors for Fiam? — No, I didn’t want to create an art object. That’s the whole point. I wanted this image to be accessible to many people at once, so that it could start living its own life, in a real home, not in a gallery. It is precisely such objects that create a favorable environment for a person, transform a utilitarian roof over their head into an artistic space. And this is important for the everyday life of ordinary people. This is the main function of good design.
The most anticipated item at iSaloni Moscow is a mirror with a secret – etk-fashion.com
