Following its Fashion Week, Mercedes-Benz keeps pace with trends in other spheres as well. The automaker is launching a collection of furniture at the current Milan Furniture Fair running from April 18 to 22. The untypical for an auto producer project is collaboration between the Mercedes-Benz Style division and furniture manufacturer Formitalia.
Photo: Mercedes-Benz furniture collection, from ca.autoblog.com
The collection includes sofas, dining tables, home theater systems and beds all made of such automotive materials as aluminum, glass and wood, stylized to remind of premium-class cars. All pieces produced by Formitalia will be sold worldwide via exclusive furniture stores, showrooms and interior design stores from October 2012.
«Formitalia and Mercedes-Benz stand for top quality and exquisite workmanship which embodies luxury and passion. We are therefore extremely pleased to create the first Mercedes-Benz Style furniture collection together with Formitalia», says Gorden Wagener, Head of Design at Mercedes-Benz. «The various pieces of furniture reflect the progressive, dynamic design idiom of our current show cars and concept vehicles, offering an exclusive, emotional experience outside our vehicles as well».
The furniture features naturally stretched forms and simple curved lines and seems to float in space rather than to be placed in a living room. The collection bears. Leather, aluminum and wood are designed to become luxury furniture pieces, each bearing a subtle Mercedes-Benz Style logo, inspired by the iconic vehicles.
Another automaker, Audi, in collaboration with design team Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram, unveils a unique chair project called the R18 Ultra Chair at the Milan Furniture Fair. Visitors will be able to test a prototype chair designed with lightweight manufacturing methods derived from Audi’s new R18 Ultra race car. The chair leverages three components, which are: a carbon composite seat, a carbon-rubber backrest and aluminum legs.
Photo: Mercedes-Benz furniture collection, from ca.autoblog.com
Photo: Mercedes-Benz furniture collection, from ca.autoblog.com