Tom Dixon Brings London Flair to Copenhagen’s Canals
MILAN — Situated in the city center of Copenhagen, unique carpets designed by renowned British designer Tom Dixon were on display alongside his signature lighting, furniture and accessories. His latest collaboration with Denmark’s Ege Carpets was unfurled in installation format on Wednesday during Copenhagen’s annual design event 3daysofdesign, which closes Friday.
The Industrial Landscape collection, which was initially started in 2016 and updated in 2019, was inspired by England’s Industrial Revolution, and comprises seven designs, available in wall-to-wall, rug and tiles and planks versions. Known for his metallic lighting and metal morphed forms reflecting post-industrial growth, Dixon told WWD that his fascination with the brick arches of his London headquarters, the Coal Office, the buildings of Battersea Power Station and St. Pancras Station was the starting point of this collection which embraces an urban landscape palette of greys, blues and browns. For the new designs, he embraced a nature-inspired motif and palette.
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“I always looked at the cracks in paving stones, the repetition of roof tiles and the rivets in steelwork, the repeated patterns in manmade structures and I use a lot of this in my work generally — bricks have a specific fascination for me in the absolute dominance of that unit of construction in London, my home city,” reflected the designer, who was born in Tunisia and spent his first four years in North Africa in Morocco, Egypt and Suez before moving back to Huddersfield in northern England. The installation was color coordinated with Dixon’s latest Fat Sofas and Bell lights in bright orange fluoro as the centerpieces of the installation.
Dixon has been a fixture on the design scene since the ’80s and has inked landmark collaborations with purveyors of popular culture and style like Adidas and Ikea. He has also served as head of design and then creative director of the U.K.’s Habitat founded by the late Terence Conran.
“As designers we are always interested in the building blocks that create an interior, the materiality of the backdrops, and texture of the floors and the pattern of the walls — these are definitely the base elements that allow you to construct an amazing interior. A carpet has a series of benefits in terms of its softness, its potential for color saturation and its unique ability to influence the acoustics of a space,” he mused, reflecting on how floor coverings are the basis of a home or space and are something needed in architecture, which is so dominated by hard surfaces like concrete.
He added that Copenhagen compared to other design capitals like Milan was a welcome reprieve from the frenetic nature of big design fairs like Salone del Mobile.Milano. “We have often visited and loved the passion for design in Denmark and the way that it is just naturally incorporated into everyday life. The ease of navigation around the city and the luminosity in June and the way it feels so relaxed compared to the intensity of Milan in April,” he said.
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