’La Chance’ sounds like a French new wave band circa 1982 (Plastic Bertrand anyone?) but it’s actually a new furniture and lighting company which showed its debut collection, entitled “Jekyll and Hyde’, at Tom Dixon’s ’Most’ at the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia, Salone Milan 2012.

The pop connotation of the company name is an apt indicator of half the collection, as there is more than just a hint of it here.

A bright colour palette, including high gloss fizzy orange and sherbet green, combines with chunky, bulbous forms and geometrical steel work to create a pop cartoon aesthetic, which is tempered by textures of oak, brushed aluminium and cork.

Many of the impeccably crafted pieces play with illusion using volume, space and in one case – the deceptively simple ’flat’ table – reflection.

As the collection name suggests, each of the 13 pieces has a subdued and sober twin, identical in form, but introducing materials such as marble, walnut and possessing a neutral palette.

The two sides of the collection were displayed in mirror image at Salone, and although the pieces are essentially ’twins’, it was delightfully difficult to realise this fact at first sight.

The contrast is not only a great trick but is also savvy and practical – appealing to different market tastes with the same design.

As much as the colourful twin collection yells ’Pop’, the neutral collection oozes ’Luxe’.

If ’La Chance’ is the designer/band and Jekyll and Hyde is the collection/album, then ’Pop/Luxe’ is the design language/music genre.

Trigger Design
triggerdesign.com.au

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