For many, Moroso‘s booth is the first stop on their tour through the Salone del Mobile. With its stable of star collaborators, some of them fresh out of design school, the manufacturer presents a much-anticipated assortment of inventive furniture, especially soft seating that goes far beyond what one sees elsewhere. Moroso focuses on creating unique upholstery, which is why one of its most fruitful relationships has been with designer Patricia Urquiola, know for her macramés, giant knits and eagerness to mix and match patterns and textures.
This time around, Urquiola – who is also designing Moroso’s booth – presents a somewhat more subdued range of seating, with Mafalda and Wish Bone, two series of chairs that focus on the form rather than the embellishment. Mafalda is a wood-framed chair with a felt backrest in a range of heights.
Meanwhile, Wish Bone takes that classic dining chair typology a step further with a back rest that’s bound to the arms with a graphic accent.
Perhaps the most dramatic debut we’ll see at Moroso is Werner Aisslinger’s Bikini Island. This seating system takes modularity to the max, and incorporates anything from shelving, tables, dividers, light fixtures – even an aquarium – into its seat and table arrangements that can be configured in numerous creative ways.
Also showing new work for Moroso is Benjamin Hubert. The young Brit will be busy this year, as he’s also debuting items for ClassiCon and Ligne Roset. For Moroso, he’s presenting the hammock-like Cradle lounge chair, made of a woven fabric with a geometric perforation; the Talma lounge chair, wrapped in a custom textile that’s zipped and fastened onto the frame; and the powder-coated Net tables in a range of colours. While Moroso has not released images of these hotly anticipated pieces, Hubert is definitely one to watch.
Salone del Mobile takes place April 9 to 14 at Fiera Milano in Rho.