IMM COLOGNE 2018
The anti-Minimalist
Speaker Giulio Cappellini summed it up adequately during the awards ceremony for the “Designer of the Year,” presented annually by “Architektur&Wohnen” at imm cologne: “Design produces bestsellers, good design produces long sellers”. Indeed, the founder of the eponymous furniture label ought to know. After all, among other things, Cappellini produces one of honoree Marcel Wanders’ most important designs, the “Knotted Chair”, which the Dutch designer dreamed up back in 1995.
Wanders is one of the most prominent champions of contemporary design. He was an early protagonist of Droog Design. Following this, he became one of the leading proponents of the so-called “Superdutch” wave with his own label, Moooi. The trend saw numerous Dutch creatives stir up the design world with cheerful colors and seemingly naive shapes. The fact that Architektur&Wohnen’s choice fell on Marcel Wanders, an artist who certainly has divided opinion among audiences with his in part playful, in part opulent designs, certainly does not seem to be a coincidence this year. Especially with a view to A&W’s new orientation in their most recent edition: “Far away from an unpopulated, documentary architecture aesthetic, far away from too much concrete and white walls,” as editor-in-chief Jörn Kengelbach wrote in the editorial. It certainly sounds like a job for Wanders. (fap)
