Moroso doesn’t just work with some of the top designers in the industry – the Italian furniture company also enjoys a close relationship with respected textile manufacturers. This important partnership was underscored at a recent event organised by Moroso at the National Design Centre in Singapore.

Designers were invited to a special learning session, where representatives from Kvadrat and Febrik shared the process of transforming a fabric from a fibre to a finished product.

Leading Danish textile manufacturer Kvadrat spoke about the technical aspects of textile, while up-and-coming player, Dutch company Febrik, shared insights on the technical construction, unique qualities, and possibilities of working with knitted textiles.

The session culminated in a competition where participants were invited to design and upholster a miniature version of the iconic Fjord armchair from the Moroso furniture collection. It was an intense session, will all eyes on the grand prize – a real-size Fjord.

The judges included Phillips Connor, Director of M Moser Associates; Patrick Chia, Founding Director of Design Incubation Centre, National University of Singapore; Jeffrey Ho, Executive Director of DesignSingapore Council; Narelle Yabuka, Editor of Cubes Indesign and annual magazine Habitus Singapore; and Siew Man Kok, Chairman and Founding Director of MKPL Architects.

Judging was held right after the session, with the winning entry – announced that very afternoon – going to Priscilla Liu, co-founder of Studio Juju.

Explaining the concept of her piece, Liu said: “The Fjord chair is a signature design by Patricia Urquiola for Moroso, with a distinct silhouette. The act of upholstering is often about tailoring the fabric according to the outline of the chair. [With this piece], I decided to deconstruct the form of the chair with this very act of upholstering. Using the fabrics in their entire sheet form, I layered the fabrics, created folds at the bend of the chair, and concealed the chair shell within the layers of fabric.”

One of the judges, Siew Man Kok of MKPL, had this to say: “The winning design stood out because of its subversive approach; it masked the original form of the chair with a seemingly simple drape that on closer inspection, was actually quite sophisticated.”

Moroso
moroso.it

Kvadrat
kvadrat.dk

Febrik
febrik.com