Yahoo Lifestyle Armani Casa Marks 25 Years, Introduces ‘Oriental Inks’ Collection With Couture-level Details
MILAN — Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Armani Casa, the brand unveiled a striking collection that spoke volumes about Giorgio Armani’s admiration for the Far East — a recurring influence and inspiration over the years. The new lineup was more decorative than in previous iterations, bringing the amount of craftsmanship and detail to couture level.
Dubbed “Oriental Inks,” the collection was displayed during Milan Design Week at the sprawling Armani Casa store in the city, and was also displayed in the 15 shop windows.
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The “dialogue with the city of Milan has become an essential part of my work as a creative and entrepreneur. This is even more so during the Salone when the city is so alive and cosmopolitan,” stated Armani.
After showcasing the Armani Casa collections for two years at the storied Palazzo Orsini headquarters on Via Borgonuovo, opening up his beautiful 17th-century building to the city, the designer said he “wanted to focus attention on the store on Corso Venezia, a dynamic space designed to adapt to ever-changing configurations, creating new visual experiences.”
He underscored how “the display and the new pieces, authentic examples of the highest level of craftsmanship, are visible through the windows to anyone passing by. I quite like the idea of a surprise that captures attention, a suggestion that broadens horizons, now that horizons are often becoming narrower.”
While aligned with Armani’s tried-and-true pragmatism of form, the designer further explored his taste for decor in this collection, with intricate embroideries and strong bursts of color.
Cue the viridian green of the new Amedeo bed, with its padded structure and fine silk upholstery entirely hand-embroidered with a jungle motif that continues on the bedspread and the bolster pillows, or the deep red of the Pascal armchair with a dragon embroidered on the back.
The collection unfolded across a series of rooms created using large walls with rice paper panels, like in Japanese interiors, embellished with watercolors or ink drawings of bamboo, dragons and the vegetation of the jungle. The motifs appeared on several pieces, including on fabrics, fine woods and lacquered surfaces.
A special series of items was covered in entirely hand-embroidered satin and velvet, involving hand-painting and hand-crafted embroidery luxury specialist de Gournay. Crafted on satin and velvet and using up to 50 different materials — including sequins, metallic and silk thread, glass beads, wool satin and silk organza — these embroideries embellished unique furniture pieces, basically one-of-a kind.
Other Eastern influences appeared, for example, as a handle reminiscent of a katana sword on the Virtù cabinet or a winding dragon in gold leaf on its light wood surface.
The satin upholstery on the three-seater sofa from the Albert series was also golden, with a jungle motif hand-embroidered running through it.
The dragon theme was echoed in the embroidery on the lichen green velvet that upholstered the new version of the Seine console, trimmed with metallic thread and beads with a 3D effect.
Among the new items in the collection were the lacquered round table with a satin finish and a light brass bamboo-motif base, or the large Trocadero table featuring a delicate geometric motif obtained with brass filaments immersed in black lacquer.
Armani Casa also introduced the Arthur dinnerware set in white porcelain and the Annabel logoed cutlery.
Last fall, Armani opened his company’s new building at 760 Madison Avenue in New York, which was entirely redesigned to include residential units, the new Giorgio Armani and Armani/Casa boutiques, and an Armani/Ristorante, which opened in November.
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