A sensuous offering from Kvadrat for Salone del Mobile is set to fire imaginations and spark curiosity in Milan this year. A dynamic stand, showroom installation and upholstery collection by Doshi Levien; new rugs by Hella Jongerius and textile by Jonathan Olivares; an installation by Studio Greiling for Kinnasand; an exhibition in collaboration with Really and Raf Simons’ new textile Byram and recolouring of Sonar 3. April promises surprising, vibrant journeys into colour, form and material.

Vertical Waves: Kvadrat standWith Vertical Waves, Doshi Levien ingeniously plays with the idea of ‘Dance of Aesthetics’ – what Raas and Lila, the names of the studio’s new textiles, translates into in Hindi. In an immersive exploration of colours, materials and tactilty of Raas and Lila, the stand comprises undulating and overlapping textile loops of architectural scale combined with wood, metal, perforated mesh and concrete.

The experience of the stand is intriguing, intimate yet expansive. It provides closed spaces for conversations and get-togethers, while simultaneously offering a colourful vista, reimagining how samples of Kvadrat textiles can be shown.

Still Frames: Kvadrat showroomRaas and Lila tell an exceptional colour story and Still Frames invokes this narrative with abstract wave-like forms featuring the two new upholstery textiles. Moving around the installation, fragments of lines and shapes cross paths to create dynamic, lyrical compositions – moments frozen in time. These elements keep popping into view, through the lens of tinted glass: a play of perforated metal, intersecting lines and fabric, set against contrasting polished gold surfaces.

Press previews with Doshi Levien Monday 16 April, 4 pm – 7 pmInterviews upon request

Kvadrat showroomCorso Monforte 1520122 Milan

Press releaseSalone Internazionale del Mobile 2018

Opening hoursMonday 16 April, 12 pm – 9 pmTuesday – Friday, 10 am – 9 pmSaturday – Sunday, 10 am – 6 pm

Press preview with Doshi Levien at Kvadrat standTuesday 17 April, 10 am – 12 amInterviews upon request

Kvadrat standRho FieraPav. 20Stand F22+E25

Opening hoursTuesday – Sunday, 9 am – 6 pm

Cocktail party in collaboration with Kinnasand and FlosThursday 19 April, 6.30 pm – 9.30 pm

Kvadrat showroomCorso Monforte 1520122 Milan

Really and Kvadrat exhibition: Circular by Design Invited by Kvadrat and Really, seven visionary designers have created illuminating projects for the second edition of Circular by Design. Each explores the potential of Really’s Solid Textile Board and Acoustic Felt – materials made from upcycled end-of-life Kvadrat textiles – for furniture and interiors.

The works also investigate the changing landscape for textiles, together with the great opportunities that will come with the shift to the circular economy. In doing so, they cast new light on one of the defining questions of our times: “What possibilities open up when end-of-life becomes the start of a new life?”

Circular by Design is curated by Jane Withers and Njusja de Gier. The participating designers are: Benjamin Hubert | LAYER, Christien Meindertsma, Claesson Koivisto Rune, Front, Jo Nagasaka, Jonathan Olivares and Raw-Edges Design Studio.

Press preview and guided tour with Really curatorsWednesday 18 April, 4 pm – 5 pm

Cocktail partyWednesday 18 April, 6 pm – 9 pm

Really: Circular by DesignVia Palermo 1Brera Design District20121 Milan

Opening hoursMonday 16 April, 12 pm – 8 pmTuesday – Friday, 10 am – 8 pmSaturday – Sunday, 10 am – 6 pm

New Kvadrat textiles

Raas and Lila by Doshi LevienTo create Raas and Lila, Doshi Levien meticulously mixed over a 100 gouache colours by hand and then hand-painted them onto porcelain samples. These were used as reference in production to dye the yarn with great accuracy – resulting in sophisticated notes that cannot be found in any existing colour systems.

The sensuous palette for Raas and Lila is inspired by the commonalities of outwardly contrasting worlds – like glazed Chinese ceramics, as well as Royal Indian and Modernist paintings. It is comprised of natural, deep tone-on-tone colours and subtle combinations, which unite to create intriguing nuances.

Nipa Doshi: ‘There is play of aesthetics, between ancient and modern references, vivid and faded colours, memories and remains of colour on architecture; two colours layered on top of each other like textured glazes.’

Twill Weave by Jonathan OlivaresA contemporary interpretation of the classic woollen twill upholstery textile, Twill Weave is designed by Jonathan Olivares. Characterised by meticulous colour precision, it comes in nuances that precisely reflect the exact hues of minerals, metals and ceramics from the Harvard University’s Materials Collection.

Originally designed for his Twill Weave Daybed, which Jonathan Olivares created in 2016, Twill Weave features the same weave pattern as carbon fibre – the material used for the bed’s frame. The textile’s colourways deliver different levels of contrast, like the natural materials they are based on.

Jonathan Olivares: ‘To develop the colours, I looked to pigments – like the charcoal grey of carbon – that occur naturally within the earth’s crust. The resulting colourways bear the colours of the earth and are conceptually and visually linked with carbon fibre.’

Byram and Sonar 3 by Kvadrat/Raf SimonsThis year’s addition is focused on the new velvety short-pile textile Byram and the varicoloured bouclé wool-blend Sonar 3. Across both textiles, Simons introduces soft and muted palettes, enlivened by splashes of his hot signature colours.

Raf Simons: ‘The colour approach for this season was inspired by a mid-century colour sensibility and soiled colour palette of muted pastels expressed in movies such as Todd Haynes’ ‘Far From Heaven’.’

Byram is made with pure kid mohair and particularly soft to the touch.

A palette rooted in warm, pearly greys recall a young swan’s plumage. Contrast comes from the warmth of primrose yellow and gold, cool forest greens and dilutions of cochineal.

Inspired by the tweeds used in high fashion garments, the dominant tones of Sonar 3 are tempered by complementary and contrasting colours to produce a subtle and elegant effect. For the recolouring of Sonar 2, Raf Simons was inspired by the distinctive combinations of colour associated with 1950s cinema, fashion and interiors. Tobacco browns come spiked with polar white and duck egg blue; three tones of grey are lifted by soft white laced with thin threads of buttercup yellow and black. Powdery greens, blues and pinks take on an added dimension with fine threads of black, white and red.

Akira Minagawa limited accessories collectionThis Salone del Mobile 2018 we are launching an exclusive limited collection of cushions and throws by the Japanese designer Akira Minagawa. Available through selected retailers worldwide, the collection is characterised by detailed embroidery and delicate prints. Different weaves and patterns, from organic to more graphic, makes up a varied collection of accessories ideal for interior.

New Kvadrat rugs

September by Hella JongeriusIn Hella Jongerius’ words, tactile September is a ‘botanical and material collage’. A refined blend of materials brings the rug to life: it combines hand-spun Tibetan wool, nettle, bamboo viscose and silk that together unite to create vibrant, shimmering colour fields.

September features crisp, colourful geometric elements embedded into its base, in varying positions, which initially catch the eye. From a distance, it reveals a large abstract shadow of a leaf knotted in a higher pile. In addition, the natural colour of the nettle changes in harmony with the seasons.

Sienna by Hella JongeriusSienna is inspired by abstract expressionist paintings, such as those of Mark Rothko. With its soft, saturated hues and delicate composition of floating forms and blocks, the rug brings to life Hella Jongerius’s exceptional sense for colour through an array of delicate tonal gradations.

To achieve the rug’s captivating watercolour-like expression, dyed flocks of wool are pulled by hand until they are almost transparent. Like paint, they overlap when placed on a dark or light base, gently flowing and diffusing into each other. Furthermore, the wool for Sienna is hand-felted by skilled women from Kathmandu, in a process which takes many hours.

Horizon by Akira MinagawaPoetic Horizon is a soft, densely hand-tufted rug, designed by Akira Minagawa. Crafted with bamboo viscose, it offers enticing colour richness and an ethereal shine. The rug ages gracefully too, gaining a silk-like patina as the yarns gently wear down over time.

Featuring over 1.9 million bamboo viscose yarns per square meter, Horizon comes in different expressions, which bring a sense of tranquillity to any interior. Each combines two colours inspired by natural landscapes to create a harmonious trinity of three different fields.

Press previewWednesday 18 April, 3 pm – 4 pmHella Jongerius available for interviews upon request

Kvadrat standRho FieraPav. 20Stand F22+E25

Kinnasand Lab presents STRUCTURES by Katrin Greiling The airy, aesthetically-pure flagship Kinnasand showroom in Milan, designed by acclaimed architect Toyo Ito, is hosting an inspirational collaboration between Berlin-based Studio Greiling and Kinnasand LAB. STRUCTURES offers a thought-provoking exploration into the experience of rugs and furniture.

Comprising a series of benches, ottomans and daybeds made from powder coated steel tubes, STRUCTURES sees the structure beneath each rug as a tool; an architectural support that lifts the rug from the floor to a new height, elevating it into a new dimension: furniture.

STRUCTURES features different rugs including Kelim, Zenit, and Harvest, which are all hand crafted using the traditional methods, Persian Knot, Tibetan Knot and Kelim.

Katrin Greiling: ‘Creating this limited series of furniture for the Kinnasand LAB project, I aimed to bring the textures and richness of the rugs closer to the hands and body, enabling visitors to the Kinnasand stand to experience the character of each individual rug.’

Press preview with Katrin Greiling Monday 16 April, 4 pm – 7 pmInterviews upon request

Cocktail party in collaboration with Kvadrat and FlosThursday 19 April, 6.30 pm – 9.30 pm

Kinnasand showroomCorso Monforte 1520122 Milan

Opening hoursMonday 16 April, 12 pm – 9 pmTuesday – Friday, 10 am – 9 pmSaturday – Sunday, 10 am – 6 pm

MINDCRAFT18 supported by KvadratThe Danish Arts Foundation returns to the historic cloister San Simpliciano in the heart of Milan to introduce 17 new works by some of Denmark’s leading craft makers and designers. The Mindcraft exhibition will be curated by acclaimed Danish designer Ditte Hammerstrøm, who for the occasion will create an elaborate installation in the pittoresque courtyard of Sam Simpliciano using 400 meters of Kvadrat’s Hallingdal 65.

MINDCRAFT18San SimplicianoPiazza Paolo VI 6, 20121 MilanOpening hours

Monday 16 April, press preview at 3 pm – 7 pmTuesday 17 April, 11 am –11 pmWednesday –Saturday, 11 am – 8 amSunday, 11 am – 5 pm

Wallpaper* Handmade and Mae Engelgeer’s Hugging ColumnFor this year’s Wallpaper* Handmade, Kvadrat supported Dutch designer Mae Engelgeer in creating a unique degradé textile for her work Hugging Column: an invitation to total relaxation. In a quest for mental and corporeal wellbeing, Wallpaper* Handmade sets out on the long and winding journey towards a better you. Expect objects that accessories the cult of self-improvement, exercise the cerebellum, replenish the body, jet-wash the life force and restore the innate harmony of the individual. Inspired by the shape of classical columns, Mae Engelgeer’s tactile Hugging Column shelters you softly and invites you to take a step up, separating yourself from your surroundings, give space to be alone, hide and meditate.

Mae Engelgeer Hugging ColumnWallpaper* Handmade17-22 AprilMediateca Santa TeresaVia della Moscova 2820121 Milan Press previewTuesday 17 April, 10am – 12pm

About Doshi LevienEstablished in 2000 by Jonathan Levien and Nipa Doshi, Doshi Levien is an internationally acclaimed design practice. Their work celebrates the hybrid and fuses cultural ideas, technologies, storytelling, industrial design and fine craftsmanship.

Doshi Levien works across different disciplines, producing output for museums and industry leaders, which includes installations, as well as limited edition and industrial products, ranging from furniture to ceramics.

Jonathan Levien and Nipa Doshi have been awarded the ICFF Editor’s Award 2014, 2015 Wallpaper Design Awards and the ‘Designers of the year’ 2015 EDIDA Award. Their exhibitions include ‘Das Haus’ for imm cologne, ‘Wool Parade’ for Kvadrat and ‘Living Objects: made for India’ for the Europalia Festival of India.

About Raf Simons Born in Belgium in 1968, Simons studied industrial design in Genk. Inspired by the work of designers such as Martin Margiela, he moved to Antwerp, where the head of the Fashion Department at the city’s Royal Academy encouraged him to start his own label without further study. Launched in 1995, Raf Simons menswear – informed both by classic tailoring and youth culture – had a huge impact on the style of the decade. With the recent, well received presentation of his A/W 2017 collection in New York, Raf Simons’ design aesthetic proves ever contemporary and relevant.

In 2005 Simons became artistic director of the Jil Sander label, which under his tenure became known for its vital, sophisticated modernism. In 2012 he was named creative director of Dior Women, a position that he held until late in 2015. Chief Creative Officer of Calvin Klein since August 2016, Simons has been awarded Designer of the Year 2017 for both his Menswear and Womenswear collections at the American fashion label.A passionate collector of contemporary art and modern design, Simons’ aesthetic is often informed by his admiration for art and he regularly engages in interdisciplinary collaborations.

About Jonathan OlivaresBoston-born designer Jonathan Olivares is a graduate from Pratt Institute. He works across a number of fields, including industrial, spatial and communication design. His work, which explores form and technology and has won several awards, asks to be used – rather than observed.

Jonathan Olivares heads a design consultancy in Los Angeles that aims to stimulate the product design process through research and writing. He is also a visiting professor at ÉCAL in Lausanne, Switzerland, and at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

About Hella JongeriusHella Jongerius’ work combines the traditional with the contemporary; the newest technologies with age-old craft techniques. The Dutch-born designer aims to create products with an individual character by including craft elements in the industrial production process.

These designs of Hella Jongerius reflect her unending research and possess the power of the final stage – while also communicating that they are part of something greater, with both a past and an uncertain future. Several can be found in permanent collections of leading museums.

About Akira MinagawaA graduate of Bunka Fashion college in Tokyo, Akira Minagawa is Japanese textile and clothes designer. He is perhaps best known for his Minä Perhonen women’s clothing label.

Akira Minagawa focuses on creating timeless output and works with a roster of leading design brands, including Richard Ginori, Fritz Hansen and PP Møbler. In 2016, for Salone del Mobile, he created the delicate, dreamy installation Forest Comes Home for Kvadrat.

About Studio GreilingKatrin Greiling is founder of Studio Greiling, a Stockholm-conceived Berlin-based office dedicated to furniture design, interior architecture and photography. This combination of mediums provides a wide perspective and allows her to embrace of a variety of diverse projects.

A German native, Katrin Greiling studied carpentry and cabinet making at Capellagården before enrolling in a 5-year master’s program in furniture design and interior architecture at Konstfack in Stockholm. Currently, a professor for product design at HBKsaar in Saarbrücken in Germany, her designs have won numerous awards.

About Mae EngelgeerDutch textile designer Mae Engelgeer studied at Amsterdam Fashion Instituut and the Sandberg Instituut before opening her own studio in 2014. She now works on a range of different projects, including textile products, material explorations and furniture design. She has recently collaborated with Kvadrat on a series of fabric designs, and with Baars & Bloemhoff on a capsule furniture collection.

About ReallyResponding to the urgent global issue of waste, Really upcycles textiles to create materials that challenge the design and architecture industries to rethink their use of resources and to design with a circular economy in mind.reallycph.com

About KinnasandKinnasand is the residential collection within the Kvadrat universe. Originally from Kinna in southern Sweden, Kinnasand produces subtle yet clear Nordic designs for contemporary homes. It comprises premium quality curtains and hand woven and hand knotted rugs. Characterised by outstanding craftsmanship, meticulous attention-to-detail and tactile structures, they are crafted from finest materials by the world’s best weavers. Refined and iconic, the Kinnasand collection is typified by sensual surfaces, individual colours and sophisticated construction techniques.

Designed by Creative Director Isa Glink, the textiles have received a number of prestigious national and international design awards. These include the German Design Award, the Interior Innovation Award, the ICFF Editors Award, the Designpreis der Bundesrepublik Deutschland and the Red Dot Design Award.kinnasand.com

About KvadratKvadrat was established in Denmark in 1968 and has deep roots in Scandinavia’s world-famous design tradition. Kvadrat holds the leading position in Europe’s high-quality contemporary textiles market. We supply architects, designers and private consumers across the world with textiles and textile-related products. Our products reflect our commitment to colour, quality, simplicity and innovation.

We consistently push the aesthetic, technological and functional properties of textiles. In doing so, we collaborate with leading designers, architects and artists; among others Miriam Bäckström,Raf Simons, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Thomas Demand, OlafurEliasson, Alfredo Häberli, Akira Minagawa, Peter Saville, Roman Signer, as well as Doshi Levien and Patricia Urquiola.

For further information, please contact:press@kvadrat.org

kvadrat.dk