What happens when Nordic design history meets Japanese refinement?
The Stockholm Design Week was the best place to discover the solution: during this event, in fact, Iittala, a manufacturer of glass and furniture from 1881 in the namesake village, which among others, gave birth to the design work of Alvar Aalto, presented the collection Iittala x Issey Miyake, created in partnership with the great Japanese designer.
The collection, which ranges from textiles to ceramics, consists of 30 objects, each representing an ode to domestic life and the desire to celebrate the relaxation and the tranquillity of the daily life.
The entire design and production process is based on respect for nature, the final result is a composition of simple and linear elements, an aesthetic concept that doesn’t rely on current fashions and that makes the collection timeless.
“The two brands have always been true to their philosophy of timeless design and creative thinking. They also value tradition, functionality, craftsmanship and the use of innovative materials and methodologies in their design work,’ says Harri Koskinen, design director of Iittala.
One of the focuses of the project is definitely the colour, in fact shades rage from green to pastel pink, with some touches of white, black and grey, a reference to the spring and its awakening.
Ceramic articles invite us to be picked up, touched and affected, a tactile sensation that comes from the perfectly union succeeded between form, material and color.
The sign of the great fashion designer Issey Miyake is seen especially in the textile part of the collection; napkins, place mats and cushions are based on folding and pleating techniques that have been used by the great designer for his clothes collections since 1980s.
Iittala, in collaboration with Issey Miyake, has created one of the finest collections presented in recent years, a minimal language that fascinates, a perfect combination between Finnish and Japanese philosophy.
Proofreading: Bianca Baroni
All images courtesy of Iittala x Issey Miyake
