michael anastassiades & mutina engrave pronounced grouts in their first tile series ‘fringe’

michael anastassiades & mutina at milan design week

In time for the Milan Design Week 2023, Michael Anastassiades showcases his first ceramic tile collection with Mutina and demarcates the design with pronounced grouts to create a brick-looking outcome. ‘Fringe’ poses as an ornamental border made of threads or strips and is a series of tiles divided into parallel segments of two widths, directly engraved onto the surface. The parallel lines with different spacing allow the users to decide how to position the tiles. In whichever way they select, the pronounced grouts and linear style can weave multiple patterns through a simple interplay of a change in orientation.

‘I always liked how open-plan interiors allow different functions to take place in multiple layouts,’ says Anastassiades. ‘Yet, the space always seems to divide naturally into clearly defined areas, as a sequence of activities across the floor. You can imagine these taking place over a series of perfectly fitted rectangular carpets, each with a different pattern, marking a territory for each act. The most interesting moment is the point when you move from one to the next, the act to follow defined by the fringe around the borders.’ Fringe marks the first collection of Anastassiades with Mutina, who joined the ceramics company in 2023.

images courtesy of Mutina | photos by Officine Mimesi (unless stated) | header image by Claudia Zala

Unglazed and rectified porcelain stoneware

In a conversation with Mutina, Michael Anastassiades shares it is his first time working on a ceramic surface. He has not yet gotten a chance to explore ceramics before their collaboration and with Fringe, his design philosophy entails retaining the essence of materiality while bringing out the rawness of the materials. ‘The beauty of Fringe is that it can exist in so many different ways, allowing the user to be creative,’ he says. ‘The essence is the creativity of where and how it will be used, because there are endless possibilities in interpreting the collection.’

Fringe is realized in a single size of 12.3 x 12.3 centimeters in two variants. The first is dubbed ‘Thin’ with segmented lines of 6 mm while ‘Bold’ anchors thickened strips of 15mm. Each element is available in White, Anthracite, Grey, Red, and Rose. Unglazed and rectified porcelain stoneware is the foundational material of the collection, giving the tile anthology a gritty texture.

The duo says that the final product is suitable for floor and wall institutions in both residential and commercial spaces, indoor and outdoor. ‘We advise using colored epoxy grout, to guarantee great chromatic stability over time and resistance to wear. Depending on the color of the used grout, in tone or in contrast, the end result changes significantly,’ states Michael Anastassiades and Mutina.

Fringe in place