design miami/ craft punk at milan design week 09

craft is an area of design production that designers often turn to in the early stages of their careers. the performances aim to be a celebration of tenacious creative expression, unruly experimentation, and brilliantly low-tech design processes. a selection of young international designers worked onsite with traditional handcraft methods to create nonconformist, cutting-edge objects, installations, and encounters. the word ‘punk’ is here used out of its original meaning. the curators used this expression as a description of attitude and spirit; as it suggests fearless defiance in the face of adversity; individuality despite pressure to conform; the drive and inspiration to make something from nothing; finding beauty in things that are imperfect and asserting one’s voice despite restricted opportunities.

the show included kwangho lee, massimiliano adami nacho carbonell, peter marigold, raw-edges, sarah becker, simon hasan, studio glithero, studio libertiny and yuri suzuki + household. the designers received a briefing – the use of discarded materials from the fendi production process, such as selleria leather, branded fabrics, plastic decorative elements, and metal hardware and to reinvent the way a process or material is typically employed.

craft punk design performances is a collaboration between design miami/ and fendi, the italian LVMH-owned luxury fashion goods brand. it took place during the milan salone del mobile 2009 in the 750 sqm. spazio fendi showroom.

simon hasan: ‘beauty and the boiled beast’ performance

simon hasan
portrait © designboom

through an ongoing exploration into the medieval technique of ‘cuir bouilli’,
in which leather is boiled to make it irreversibly hard
image © designboom

simon hasan embraces the material’s capacity to be both decorative and structural.
he boils leather, wrapped on wooden forms, adds resin and car paint.
image © designboom

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nacho carbonell: ‘beasts’ performance

nacho carbonell
portrait © designboom

nacho carbonell uses only a stapler and basic moulding skills to fashion his creatures out
of fendi leather straps
image © designboom

image © designboom

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kwangho lee: ‘obsession’ performance

kwangho lee
portrait © designboom

with hands toiling obsessively, kwangho lee creates lounge chairs out of gardening hoses
image © designboom

image © designboom

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peter marigold: ‘qow’ performance

peter marigold
portrait © designboom

image © designboom

using leather straps from fendi production, marigold creates patterned tabletops in which
the complimentary internal angles of a bisected square are matched up and tessellated
together to form uniform plates.
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raw- edges: ‘pleated pleat’ performance

yael mer and shay alkalay of raw edges studio
portrait © designboom

borrowing a technique used in fashion production, raw edges folds and re-folds DuPont ™ Tyvek ® sheets
to create a series of plush seats.

the method of pleating allows the flat, non elastic material to become a springy, three dimensional cushion
when filled with soft polyurethane foam.
image © designboom

image © designboom

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sarah becker: ‘rebuild’ performance

sarah becker
portrait © designboom

through compulsive handwork, transforming discarded materials and found objects, sarah becker
re-creates brand logos and an iconic imaginary brand alphabet
image © designboom

glamorously layered and textured fashion accessories
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massimiliano adami: ‘fossilizziamo’ performance

massimiliano adami
portrait © designboom

assorted found objects, fendi plastic mannequins,… are drowned in foam
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studio glithero: ‘brief moment of happiness’

white ceramic vases, which through exposure to light, slowly become vivid prussian blue.
the blueprint technique creates silhouettes of (dried) flowers and elastic rubber bands resting
on the surfaces.
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studio libertiny: ‘the weldgrown void’ performance

the hollow object results from the buildup of stainless steel weld solder in a continuous layers on a turntable
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yuri suzuki & household: ‘animatic’ performace

sarah gottlieb and george wu of hosehold and yuri suzuki
portrait © designboom

a series of animated machines comes to life in a chain reaction and creates a narrative for the song
image © designboom