Search

Marni Chairs at Milan Design Week

Marni Chairs Milan Design Week

I had been keen to see Marni’s collection of chairs, commissioned for Milan Design Week and made by ex-prisoners in Colombia, so I headed over there on day three.

Marni Chairs Milan Design Week

Hidden in little courtyard just behind the Marni store in Milan’s Brera district, they brought a real taste of Colombia to Milan, especially when the sun came out!

Marni Chairs Milan Design Week

The chairs are made in the traditional Colombian style using a metal structure and woven multicolored PVC threads on the backs and armrests. Marni designed the patterns and color combinations, but left the creation in the hands of the ex-prisoners.

Marni Chairs Milan Design Week

The project aims to help to reintegrate its participants into social and working life after their time in prison, and to preserve local skills and craftsmanship.

Marni Chairs Milan Design Week

Marni are continuing to use the chairs as the backdrop for a series of portraits of their employees as they travel from store to store as part of an ongoing installation. A film has also been made by Francesco Jodice.

Marni Chairs Milan Design Week

The chairs, a limited edition of 100, are for sale for approximately $260-$590, and all proceeds will be donated to the Institute ICAM of Milan – a project which allows children of imprisoned mothers to grow up in a family environment.

Our trip to Milan for Milan Design Week 2012 was supported in part by Airbnb.com.

Katie Treggiden is a purpose-driven journalist, author and, podcaster championing a circular approach to design – because Planet Earth needs better stories. She is also the founder and director of Making Design Circular, a program and membership community for designer-makers who want to join the circular economy. With 20 years' experience in the creative industries, she regularly contributes to publications such as The Guardian, Crafts Magazine and Monocle24 – as well as being Editor at Large for Design Milk. She is currently exploring the question ‘can craft save the world?’ through an emerging body of work that includes her fifth book, Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure (Ludion, 2020), and a podcast, Circular with Katie Treggiden.