Carlo Colombo was interviewed while sitting in a Swing chair that he designed for the Giorgetti brand. Colombo designs buildings, armchairs and lamps, carpets and kitchen sets. Like any real designer, he is rightly proud of the ability to create the most complex design object — a chair
Passing the gallery Magazine: N4 (214) 2016
For GIORGETTI you have been designing for more than three years. Please tell us how it all began. —This is a funny story. Roberta Giorgetti and I ended up on the same plane from Kuala Lumpur. During the flight and agreed. In fact, I live three kilometers from the factory. And the meeting took place in the sky. Since then, we can already speak about the collection of Carlo Colombo for GIORGETTI. This is a great brand. Not just furniture — real art. I am happy to work with them. The process itself starts and fascinates: while developing a thing, we meet with Carlo Giorgetti many times and discuss, discuss, in which direction we need to tune. It is known that the most difficult thing in the design of a chair is to make it not beautiful, but comfortable. I always draw by hand, never use a computer. And the future sketch is born in the process of conversation with the customer. It is like a husband, a wife, and the fruit of their love — a child. The creative process is like a family.
SALON: How do you manage to maintain the style of the brand and your own? Where is the border? - In the middle. In the case of the Swing chair, for example, by 50 percent, the result depended on the genius of the brand (name, tradition, quality, wood-steel combination technology). 50 percent is, if you will, my personal genius. My experience, my style. I come from Brianza, this is an edge associated with design, furniture production, here the masters have golden hands.
S: What are your inspirations? - to introduce into the design elements of other cultures. Look, Asian motifs are read in the armrests of the chair. This is not a copy of the forms, but cultural hints, associations. I love smooth forms that resemble a female body. Or more so — car lines. They also excite and inspire me. But comfort is an equally important thing! If it is a chair or a chair, they should be perfectly comfortable. While this is not, work continues.
S: What is the most important thing in design lately? —Technologies — materials and colors. This affects the design. For example, many colors were simply impossible to create. And if you change the fabric, skin, color, then everything changes, even in a classic subject. The style becomes more modern. I love to mix different materials and technological boom. And yet, fashion and furniture design began to interact, even five years ago they were different worlds.
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