In addition to "Objet Préféré" at the Triennale, Fabrica × Benetton presented a similarly geometric collection at Tom Dixon's MOST:
How do people sit? There are those who flop down on a staircase or on a sawn-off tree trunk, those who prefer a stool with turned legs or a classic straw-bottomed chair. Then there are those who use a chair as a tool, to get hold of something that otherwise would be out of reach.
"Searching for Cassiopeia" is a collection of 12 chairs conceived by the young designers at Fabrica and manufactured by the Italian Chair District, the exhibition is inspired by the constellation, in which "the five brightest stars of Cassiopeia resemble the shape of a chair. (A quick refresher, for those of you who don't know the tale by heart: "A vain Egyptian queen is tied to this chair, condemned to circle the pole star for all eternity.")
To those who have always thought that sitting is a banal and ultimately repetitive gesture, the project shows that a throne is very different from a step, a chaise longue very different from a bench, a stool entirely the opposite of a small armchair. It shows that to relax after a day's hard work, you need the right backrest, and that there is nothing better than falling into a soft padded mat with your loved one.
As for the Italian Chair District?
Located in the heart of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, this manufacturing cluster includes small, sub-contracting artisan firms and big industrial companies highly specialized in the wood/furniture sector and in each individual stage in the manufacturing process...The Italian Chair District is synonymous with a collective, flexible and efficient system that absorbs contemporary sources of inspiration without betraying its roots, creates a dialogue with international trends, features cultural input by designers from a wide range of backgrounds and training, and grafts them onto well-established techniques and knowledge.
More after the jump...