Diesel’s outlook and flair touches every area of the globally admired brand and their recent collaborations with Patrizia Moroso and Foscarini are no different. An air of confidence and glamour exudes from the exhibition space within the company’s spacious penthouse on via Stendhal, prevented from appearing overly self-assured by an obvious grunge authenticity and what seems to be a genuine lust for the darker side of life. The collection’s title, ‘Successful Living from Diesel,’ is somewhat tongue-in-cheek and pokes fun at the swarms of suited businesspeople plaguing the shows of the bigger names in the interiors industry, searching for status within their wares. A mark of success, Diesel may only be to some, but the claim of “living” cannot be challenged.
In this collection, Diesel’s strength lies in a cunning mix of functionality and cool, creating objects based on classic forms such as the free standing reading lamp and office chair that effortlessly bend themselves to the demands of both fashion and daily living. The exhibition itself takes the idea of performance literally, accompanying every piece with an appropriate soundtrack and, in one room, displaying Foscarini’s Fork and Graf free-standing lamps in a rock’n’roll 4-piece band formation. The strong forms hold their own when set against a mainly monochrome backdrop and functionality is uncompromised with a utilitarian theme running throughout, punctuated with x-rays and grainy images. Although the interactivity is of the standard push-button nature, the sudden burst of music and abrupt lighting creates a sense of drama and abandon akin to that of stadium rock shows. This isn’t a lamp display, it’s a way of living successfully without the formalities associated with high-profile design.
The Mirror Box created to house Foscarini’s Rock lamp is an audio-visual feast, synching a heart-beat to rhythmical pulses of light which can be viewed through three different viewing holes. As the beams are reflected by the kaleidoscopic paneled interior of the box, the faces of the shade are illuminated and the theater of the piece’s form is accented with a graceful finesse. An innovative personal favourite, Foscarini’s Tri-p lamp collapses into its own case using folding mechanisms and polished steel struts most commonly used in musical speaker supports. The delicately woven elastic fabric of the shade softens the industrial skeleton, making it an object that warmly accents an interior without compromising on attitude. Whether the compacting of the object is an illusion of a jet-set lifestyle or not is irrelevant – The juxtaposition of references and tactile properties creates something uniquely pleasing and instantly desirable.
Echoes of this militant practicality are present in the bedding and furniture scattered throughout the largest room, which is humanized by a cyclical birdsong. Drawing on the company’s denim heritage, a range of denim couches and chairs are present but it is the subtle hints to this ancestry that produce the more endearing pieces. Moroso’s Overdyed range flirts with this summer’s denim trends but is the right side of acid wash and could easily compliment a minimal London office or a beachside Miami condo. The fabric prints for the interiors ranges are fused with khaki canvas to take the form of tents, complete with dressed double mattresses, and pose a question of boundaries: Will we one day see the launch of Diesel Outdoors?
Defiance is the best catalyst for innovation and the collaborative efforts on show in the brand’s Zona Tortono headquarters draw from an attitude that subtly influences rather than dominates. Admirably understated yet affirmatively striking, Diesel have done themselves proud in this newfound land and look set to grow from strength to strength in future seasons.
Diesel: Successful living from Diesel.
Via Stendhal 34
www.diesel.com