Design Centre Stories

Journey to Japan

Quiet luxury, wabi sabi, and craftsmanship perfected over centuries: the design traditions of Japan are at the forefront of spring’s new collections.

Textiles are an obvious starting point, with Gastón y Daniela’s Japón collection (above; available from Abbott & Boyd) dedicated to the art of the kimono. A snapshot of more than a millennia of design history, it’s inspired by everything from simple, rustic early styles of the 5th century to the ikats of the Meisen period.

Avant-garde Dutch design brand Moooi has teamed up with Arte once again for Toyko Blue (above), a capsule collection of wallcoverings featuring the macaque monkey. Copper-coloured embroidery on a denim background make the technique as unusual as the subject matter.

Mark Alexander also works with an indigo colour for the Collage collection of wallcoverings (above), available at Romo. ‘Network’ is a grid of stitched squares of crumpled, hand-coloured Japanese paper, which echoes the fabric technique of boro, where old indigo-dyed offcuts are stitched together to give a garment a new lease of life.

In furniture, the shapes adhere to a pure aesthetic, with dark timber, lacquered finishes and rattan all alluding to an eastern influence. Pictured above are a ‘Henley Street’ screen by Man of Parts, available from Tollgård, and an ‘0414’ chair by Gallotti&Radice.

There’s also a more colourful side to this trend, with Japón’s hero product ‘Matsuyama’ (above) being a velvet version of a well-loved print of Japanese ladies in traditional dress, and other products in the collection inspired by bold, graphic kimonos from the art deco period.

Top image credits: ‘Rosetta’ armchair, Flexform; ‘Bone Black’ paint, Zoffany; ‘Mano’ fabric (10845 / 982), Zimmer + Rohde; ‘Slate’ fabric (35700.11), Kravet; ‘Apollo Carre’ wallcovering, (ARC43/CA), Nobilis; ‘Magie Japonaise’ wallcovering, Pierre Frey; ‘Tied-Up Romance’ pendant, (02). Katerina Handlova for Bomma at Poliform; ‘Humidor’ cabinet, Baker; ‘Minsk Raku’ vase, grey, by Domani for Sutherland Furniture at Sutherland Perennials Studio; ‘Luna Stone’ large and small seats, black metallic finish, Domani for Sutherland Furniture at Sutherland Perennials Studio; ‘Perfect White’ paint, Zoffany

Abbott & Boyd, First Floor, North Dome
Arte, Second Floor, Design Centre East
Gallotti&Radice, Second Floor, Centre Dome
Romo, First Floor, North Dome
Tollgård, First Floor, Centre Dome

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