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updated 12 Apr 2012, 01:12
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Sun, Jun 19, 2011
The Yomiuri Shimbun/Asia News Network
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Top fashion firms branch out to furniture
by Izumi Miyachi

Top fashion and jewelry companies are getting into interior decorating in ever increasing numbers--a trend clearly seen in April at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, an international trade fair for furniture and industrial design in Milan.

Such companies may hope to spread their aesthetic values into every aspect of people's lives, not only via clothing and accessories but also through furniture and design.

Hermes made its first appearance at the trade fair this year, exhibiting a collection of furniture created by famous Italian industrial designers, including Enzo Mari. One chair made from top-quality leather was simple in design but refined and serene in its aura.

Italian brand Giorgio Armani also exhibited refined furniture under the brand name Armani/Casa.

The designs of its Holiday Home-themed furniture, which included a bookshelf made of cherry tree wood, were minimalist but relaxed. The pieces also reflected the color tones used in the fashion collections of Milan.

In one case, Italian mosaic tile manufacturer Sicis asked French designer Christian Lacroix to create decorative furniture for it.

Danish jeweler Georg Jensen launched a number of items related to daily life, such as pitchers and dining trays, during the Salone trade fair.

"We're expressing our simple, elegant designs, which are timeless, in products connected to people's daily lives," said Georg Jensen's chief executive officer, Ulrik Garde Due.

Japan's Anteprima, which has participated in the Milan collections, exhibited a lamp shade shaped like the head of a deer and a bag shaped like a piggy bank. Both were made from the same material as the brand's signature wire bags.

The uninhibited imagination of the fashion world and its use of different materials may expand the possibilities of interior designs.

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