lapo elkann reinterprets kartell’s furniture icons using car wrapping technology

lapo elkann reinterprets kartell’s furniture icons using car wrapping technology

during milan design week 2016, kartell’s flagship store was transformed into a showcase of some of the italian furniture company’s iconic design pieces specially reinterpreted by lapo elkann and garage italia customs using an innovative car wrapping technology.

the artistic reinterpretations draw upon traditional colors of automotive nations and worlds

through garage italia customs, lapo elkann customised a selection of kartell furniture with  artistic reinterpretations that draw upon traditional colors found in automotive nations and worlds, along with fashion patterns, such as houndstooth, pinstripe and tartan. lapo elkann wrapped each design using a technique that involves covering their surfaces with a special vinyl film—the first time that this procedure has been used on kartell furniture.

the limited edition collection of furniture is wrapped in textile motifs such as houndstooth, tartan and pinstripe

the ‘kartell+lapo. it’s a wrap!’ event dominated the store’s windows, with a scenography that encompassed the value of italian craftsmanship and dreamlike dimensions forming a ‘garage of dreams’ whereby garage italia customs experts breathed new life into the furniture.

philippe starck’s ‘ghost chair’ reinterpreted with details from famous racing liveries
image © designboom

presented on an electric blue lino floor, with an embossed circle pattern, approximately forty kartell products— personalized with the automotive and fashion world-influenced motifs—were on display. antonio citterio‘s elliptical ‘glossy’ tables, anna castelli ferrieri’s ‘componibili’ storage units, and philippe starck‘s ‘uncle jim‘, ‘louis ghost‘, ‘ghost buster’, ‘one more please’, ‘tip top’, and ‘lou lou ghost’ stools and chairs, as well as tokujin yoshioka‘s ‘invisible’ side table, were ‘wrapped’ in colors of national flags. borrowed details from motifs and colors of famous racing liveries were also used. completely different patterns from the world of fashion and textile design were also employed. the same pieces dressed in contrasting looks—from a more graphic, pop aesthetic, to a plainer style—express a diverse visual language.

anna castelli ferrieri’s ‘componibili’ storage units wrapped in colors from famous racing liveries
image © designboom

lapo elkann states: ‘when I created garage italia customs I knew that our objective was not to limit personalisation to the automotive world, but to translate its creative potential to many other sectors. for our first contamination with the world of furniture and design, we could not have found a better partner than kartell. as a symbol of italian creativity and design, kartell has numerous true icons of contemporary design to its name and shared its continual experimental and innovative research, combined with the use of advanced technology, with garage italia customs. the perfect synergy that has been created between our two organisations has allowed us to meld design, cars and lifestyle into unconventional furniture with a new and unique personality.’

the collection was shown during milan design week 2016 at kartell’s flagship store in via turati

claudio luti, president of kartell, said: ‘today kartell is a lifestyle brand with such a global reach that it is able to embark upon collaborations and special projects with a freer and more relaxed approach towards its products. the collaboration with lapo elkann is very intriguing because his entrepreneurial approach is unconventional, uninhibited by trends, genuinely creative, and supported by significant commercial insights. and this combination of lapo’s and kartell’s imaginations forges new opportunities to develop the very concept of personalized industrial design. nowadays, consumers want to feel more of a part of their purchases by influencing them with their own creative vision (from cars to houses and furniture). I have found it particularly stimulating having our icons interpreted with new patterns and colors in a limited run, and I think that this collection may introduce a new way of interpreting the potentials of kartell products without straying from our industrial approach.’

iconic kartell furniture pieces wrapped in patterns taken from the fashion and textile world
image © designboom

the project has given rise to a collaboration that will debut its first limited edition collection for sale from september to december 2016 in kartell stores, and online at kartell.com.

philippe starck’s ‘ghost chair’ wrapped in a houndstooth pattern
image © designboom

antonio citterio’s elliptical ‘glossy’ tables wrapped in pinstripe and tartan motifs
claudio luti, president of kartell and lapo elkann, founder of garage italia customs
portrait © designboom

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