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50/50 Collection: A Modern Take on Italian Furniture Design

08.04.14 | By
50/50 Collection: A Modern Take on Italian Furniture Design

50/50 Collection is a new collection by designer Luca Nichetto for Portuguese manufacturer De La Espada. Taking a modern approach to Italian furniture design, Nichetto looked to the renowned architects of the 1950’s when designing the latest products that join a year-long series of launches. Different pieces will be revealed via special exhibitions and this is the second debut, Episode II, which released the Stanley Sofa and the Laurel Coffee and Side Tables. Launched during NYCxDesign, the collection was presented along with a capsule fashion collection by Yulia Yadryshnikova.

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The Stanley Sofa features an exposed solid wood frame with impressive joinery that was crafted by the skilled wood masters at De La Espada. The taut cushions look tidy but super comfortable.

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Elysia was the first product to launch and, as you can see, it pairs beautifully with the sofa and tables.

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The Laurel Coffee and Side Tables are formed with two geometric shapes – a cone and a cylinder – that intersect to create two tabletop surfaces. Just like the other pieces in the collection, the ratio of materials is kept at 50/50 with a painted and hand-polished cone that looks to balance effortlessly atop the wooden cylindrical base of sandwiched planks.

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Yulia Yadryshnikova’s capsule fashion collection is made up of two parts that tell very different stories. First, is a series of three dresses that were inspired by childhood memories where Yulia played a game every morning when she turned over the calendar to a new day. She folded each calendar page into a different shape, depending on her mood, transforming every day into its own unique form.

Each day is unique but when you add them all together they make up a lifetime. It translates to her work, in that, each piece is imagined as a single form with the occasional part acting separately, much like the calendar pages.

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Wanting to draw a connection between fashion and the furniture world, Yulia created a unique dress that can be worn or it can be a cover for the Stanley sofa.

The last part of the collection is made up of two coats that are coats she reinterpreted from a previous collection, but this time using the same upholstery fabric as the sofa above.

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Yulia Yadryshnikova’s photos by Laura Jiménez.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.