Fendi's "Craft Punk" a Success in Milan
Co-sponsored by Design Miami/, the event highlighted design production and processes.
Sheila Kim -- Interior Design, 4/30/2009 12:00:00 AM
All things design take the spotlight every year at Milan's Salone Internazionale del Mobile, but while most companies present displays of furniture and objects, fashion house Fendi puts the design process literally on show. During this year's Salone, held April 22 to 24, the luxury brand invited up-and-coming talent to demonstrate their creation processes live in Spazio Fendi. Dubbed "Craft Punk," the performance art–like event was conceived as a platform for emerging international designers to display their innovation at a show that attracts the industry's powerbrokers, while also celebrating design crafted by hand.
The designers were challenged to create objects, art, and furnishings using materials discarded from the Fendi production process, including leather, fabrics, plastic elements, and metal hardware. This reuse of materials, and emphasis on experimentation and low-tech production were all a response to today's financial climate and social commentary. "In these challenging times in which the world is changing rapidly, we wanted to exalt pure creativity by rediscovering the power and beauty of fatto a mano (hand-craft)," says Silvia Venturini Fendi, creative director for Fendi accessories.
"'Craft Punk' will comprise an environment in which we have the unique opportunity to see extraordinary design pieces coming to life in front of our eyes," added Ambra Medda, director of Design Miami/, who curated the event in partnership with Fendi.
Some of those displays included a jungle-like installation woven out of electrical cords and garden hoses by Kwangho Lee; furniture pieces fashioned out of paper and other materials by Raw-Edges; and re-imagined Fendi accessories by embroidery and collage extraordinaire Sarah Becker. The ten featured designers and studios hailed from Denmark, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
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