Design Anthology, Asia Pacific Edition #16

When we launched Design Anthology four years ago, we were routinely informed that nobody would take notice of us until we’d made it to the one-year mark. Understandably so — many magazines barely make it past their first issue, and businesses in any industry often struggle to survive the first year. First milestone, tick. Then we were informed that the real test was in fact two years. Second milestone, tick. But then because we only publish four issues per year, it would be when we’d published ten issues that we would start to be taken seriously. Well, third milestone, tick. With the publication of this issue (our sweet 16th!) we’re happy and relieved to be celebrating our four-year anniversary. I think, or at least I hope, it’s safe to say…

Flexform Italian luxury furniture brand Flexform has been busy the last few months, opening several new showrooms throughout the region from China and Taiwan to the Philippines. A 220-square-metre space in Beijing and 450-square-metre space in Hangzhou will expand the brand’s presence on the Chinese mainland to a total of five showrooms, while a standalone 800-square-metre space in Manila designed by local architect Ed Calma will bring more visibility to the brand in South East Asia. flexform.it Stellar Works, Hong Kong Inspired by long-standing craft traditions combined with cultural heritage, Shanghai-based furniture brand Stellar Works is at the very forefront of an emerging creative renaissance in Asia. Champions of what ‘Made in China’ now means (hint: not cheap copies), the brand has, despite a relatively short history, already produced a…

Addition Studio Australian lifestyle brand Addition Studio was founded by Ryan Hanrahan, a trained graphic designer who found the transition to product design was natural. The latest addition to the studio’s selection of lighting is the Stratosphere lamp (seen left). The external elements consist of half a cylindrical concrete block enveloping the tubular light source. Each piece is handmade in Australia and is available in a variety of coloured concrete and metal finishes. additionstudio.com Vibia x Ichiro Iwasaki Teaming up with Japanese designer Ichiro Iwasaki for the first time, Barcelona-based lighting company Vibia launched the Pin lamp series, available as a wall sconce (seen right), floor lamp or table lamp and in matt white, black, cream or khaki green finishes. Powered by LED, the light emitted is a soft glow…

Androgyne: Fashion + Gender by Patrick Mauriès (Thames & Hudson) ‘Ladies and Gentlemen…and others’, starts one chapter in this book on the topic of androgyny, in which author Patrick Mauriès delivers the compelling cultural history of gender bending and blending dating back to the late 19th century with the writings of Oscar Wilde up until today. Pairing contemporary fashion photography with 19th-century fine art and complemented by occasional deep delves into literature, Mauriès explores with great insight what he identifies as the ‘timeless human drive to escape from defined categories’. Not coincidentally, it’s become an obsession of contemporary fashion houses as of late. Think Jean Paul Gaultier’s winter 2011 haute couture runway show that ended with a willowy blond man-bride in a diaphanous gown or the 2016 Diesel ad campaign…

Elaine Ng Yan Ling is a self-described ‘material girl’, but the British-born, Hong Kong-based textile designer is by no means materialistic. ‘How do we humanise it?’ is the question she asks herself when embarking on a project. And there have been many projects. Sitting in her Kwai Chung studio on a bright Tuesday morning, Ng is surrounded by batik-printed stools, shimmering cushions and rolls of leather. A couple of workers are weaving on a hand-operated electronic jacquard loom in the back of the space. ‘We have two looms in the back and a third one coming,’ she says. Her studio is the only one in Hong Kong that combines in-house weave design and production. Ng studied textile design at Central Saint Martins, where she worked with shape-memory yarns and melted…

The fashion pack has never been known for restraint, so it’s no surprise that soon after turning its sartorial eye on the Salone del Mobile in Milan, the biggest furniture fair in the world began to morph into a celebration of creativity on a broader — and grander — scale. There is no doubt that the fair remains the most important appointment in the global furniture design calendar. Over six days last year, 343,602 people from 165 countries visited the fairground in Rho, where more than 2,000 exhibitors were on show. Founded in 1961 with the intention of promoting Italian furniture and furnishings, the fair runs in conjunction with several other major trade shows including the biennial Euroluce and EuroCucina. Forward-thinking fashion brands have focused on getting in on the…