Εβδομάδα Μόδας Μιλάνου: H Maserati παρουσίασε νέα σειρά επίπλων, η Infiniti ειδικά Q50 και QX70 και η Peugeot έναν καναπέ αξίας €135.000

16:01 9/4/2014 - Πηγή: AutoBlog

Στην εβδομάδα μόδας του Μιλάνου η Maserati αποφάσισε να παρουσιάσει μια νέα κολεξιόν από την σειρά επίπλων της. Είναι κατασκευασμένα μαζί με την Zanotta και αποτελούνται από μια καρέκλα, ένα υποπόδιο και ένα τραπέζι.

Εκεί η Infiniti μαζί με την Poltrona Frau βελτίωσαν ένα Q50 και ένα QX70 ντύνοντας τα με νέες δερμάτινες επενδύσεις στο εσωτερικό, με την Peugeot

να παρουσιάζει έναν Onyx καναπέ αξίας 135.000 ευρώ! Ο καναπές χρειάστηκε 70 ημέρες για να κατασκευαστεί και είναι κατασκευασμένος από carbon και ηφαιστειακή πέτρα.

[Πηγή: Maserati, Infiniti]

Δελτίο Τύπου

SALONE INTERNAZIONALE DEL MOBILE, MILAN 2014 MASERATI BY ZANOTTA CAPSULE COLLECTION

A SPECIAL MASERATI BY ZANOTTA CAPSULE COLLECTION WILL BE UNVEILED AT SALONE INTERNAZIONALE DEL MOBILE IN MILAN; THE NEW EXCLUSIVE PIECES OF FURNITURE ORIGINATE FROM THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE TWO BRANDS, THE PROTAGONISTS OF MADE IN ITALY.

A special Maserati by Zanotta Capsule Collection will be unveiled at Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan; the new exclusive pieces of furniture originate from the collaboration between the two brands, the protagonists of Made in Italy.

After the success of the collaboration which started last year with the Maserati Lounge Chair by Zanotta, also presented at Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan, the creative synergy is renewed, giving birth to theMaserati by Zanotta Capsule Collection.

The foot rest for the Grandtour Lounge Chair, the Corina chair and the Maestrale table are the three new pieces of furniture born from Maserati and Zanotta co-branding and, like the Lounge Chair, feature the prestigious signature of Ludovica+Roberto Palomba. The designers have created a new series of exclusive items inspired by the style of the iconic Maserati cars, conceiving them as autonomous pieces and, at the same time, an extension to and completion of the chair with which they share an aesthetic DNA marked with excellence and a strongly innovative spirit, in line with the philosophy of the two brands.

The designers explain that the foot rest of the Lounge Chair “is inspired by the semantic universe of Italian-born American artist, Harry Bertoia”, where exquisite technical skill is accompanied by a great passion for formal experimentation.

On the chromed base, which also comes in a nickel-plated glossy black finish, rests the structure of rigid polyurethane, upholstered with polyurethane/Dacron Du Pont. The quilted removable cover is available in three different colour versions: dark grey leather with a light grey edge, light grey leather with a brown edge, mud-coloured leather with a light grey edge.

The Corina chair, Ludovica and Roberto Palomba say, “is characterised by a metal rod frame with a leather cover. The craftsmanship of the shell upholstery presents a series of curves and details that are similar to Maserati car seats”. The design of the light “armour” that joins the steel legs, in chrome or nickel-plated glossy black finish, to the rigid polyurethane shell allows for gentle, comfortable seating. The removable cover is made from quilted leather coupled with heat-bound polyester fibre.

The Maestrale desk has a clean, linear volume and is composed from a thick, flat Canaletto walnut top, which rests on a steel rod frame. Carved into the top, made of walnut-veneered plywood or, alternatively, in a sought after pigmented cowhide, there is a large drawer. The legs are chrome-plated steel or nickel plated glossy black. Regarding the design of the table, the Palombas explain that “the mix of materials and the exclusivity of the processing refer to the idea of know-how, common ground for Zanotta and Maserati”.

An extreme formal refinement and composition, conjugated to the high quality of craftsmanship, are common elements of the collection, which is enhanced by an additional piece thanks to the prestigious collaboration with Ermenegildo Zegna, the brand leader in luxury menswear. The Maserati by Zanotta Lounge Chair is proposed this year, together with its foot rest, in a special limited edition of 100 units, dressed in a precious 100% silk fabric produced by the Zegna Wool Mill, in combination with the leather. This is a transposition into the world of interior design from the Maserati Quattroporte Ermenegildo Zegna Limited Edition project, the limited edition of 100 cars conceived as a tribute to the 2014 centenary of Maserati.

Exclusivity, elegance and innovation are the values on which Zanotta and Maserati have built their history of excellence and at the same time represent the common ground on which the two brands came together to create this shared project, now in its second edition: the starting point and successful introduction for future collaborations.

Maserati by Zanotta Capsule Collection

Where:Zanotta Shop Milano – Piazza del Tricolore, 2

When:Press Preview 9 April, 18:30; followed by invite only inauguration from 19:30Open to the public: 10-13 April – from 11.00h till 20.00hFor further information: C-Zone – Tel. [phone] | e-mail: [e-mail]

PEUGEOT AT MILAN DESIGN WEEK

ONYX sofa to premiere in world ‘design Mecca’First piece in PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB’s custom furniture collectionSeven additional pieces in bespoke 750m2 Via Tortona installation

PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB has chosen the Milan Design Week (8-13 April 2014) as the venue to unveil its latest creation, the ONYX sofa. It will show off the stunning sculpted seat in a unique exhibition space located in the bustling and bohemian Tortona district of the Italian city.

As the PEUGEOT global brand design studio, PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB will be at the centre of the world’s ‘design Mecca’ throughout Milan Design Week. Its installation will be at 32 Via Tortona – the heart of Milan’s old industrial area ‑ in a 750m2 exhibition space arranged over three rooms. The installation has been designed to preserve the industrial ambience of the building as a nod to PEUGEOT’s engineering heritage, while also providing a suitable setting for an eye-catching and thought-provoking display of objects, sound and light.

ONYX sofa

The all-new ONYX sofa will form the heart of this display and is intended as a statement in pure form and materials. The three-metre long seat takes its inspiration from the 2012 ONYX trio of superbike, supertrike and supercar.

The ONYX supercar was powered by a 600bhp hybrid powertrain; yet just as memorable was its innovative bodywork made from carbon fibre combined with copper and its cabin of felt and newspaper-derived wood. The ONYX sofa has been designed as a static partner to that and has been built from hand-crafted Volvic volcanic lava stone that is seamlessly joined with hi-tech carbon fibre. It was conceived by PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB as the perfect demonstration of a made-to-measure furnishing concept.

Seven additional sculptures

Customers of PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB furniture will be free to choose their object and their materials. Each piece will then be a unique creation, guided by the essence of the raw material. To demonstrate this, the ONYX sofa will be accompanied in Milan by seven sculptures. These will include lamps, shelves, armchairs and tables: designs that explore other alliances of materials, marrying obsidian with concrete, red ferrous jasper and steel, quartz crystal and aluminium, sculpted wood and 3D printing, black palm plus basalt and marsh oak and Corian.

It took 70 days to make this ONYX sofa in carbon fibre and Volvic volcanic rock and the price has been set to reflect that at £113,300 (135,000 €). Prices for other creations will depend on the cost of the materials chosen by each client.

What the experts say on… ONYX

PEUGEOT styling director Gilles Vidal: “At Milan we are making a link between the ONYX Concept Supercar, a combination of efficiency plus audacious, natural materials, and the ONYX sofa. By using a sharp straight cut in the rock, this contrast in materials is powerful, voluntary and assumed in the way we look at the materials and how they are used. The carbon fibre with its very structured and technical texture has had its shape sculpted precisely to the volcanic stone with its texture and fault lines. While it’s been perfectly adjusted in dimensions and proportions it still follows the natural form and has an acceptance of not being in control of such a powerful natural material as shown by the stone mason’s random chisel marks.”

Head of PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB Cathal Loughnane: “This project was started in May 2013. From the beginning we had a very raw, very powerful sketch. The ONYX sofa is an illustration of a new concept that we intend to explore: unique pieces of furniture that are made to measure to suit the choice, origin and personality of the customer. However, they must always follow a common theme: the union, via a pronounced, clear cut, between hyper-technological materials such as carbon fibre, glass fibre, aluminium and raw and natural materials like rock, wood and stone.

“In a world where technology changes products very quickly, where people grow tired of things very quickly, we want to offer technological furniture that remains respectful of nature’s materials and the ancestral craftsman’s skills, a balanced marriage between performance and responsibility.”

Independent design specialist Pierre Léonforté: “The stone that has been chosen for the Onyx sofa has been around for more than 11,000 years. It has spent thousands of years filtering water and is resistant to freezing and chemical products. Carbon fibre is a material that PEUGEOT helped pioneer through its competition bicycles from the Eighties. By putting the two together in a sofa, the PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB has created a 400kg design that is terse, unique, exceptional and hand-made. A powerful monolith, provocative and mysterious, the ONYX, makes its mark as a distillation of the earth from nature, technology and the avant-garde. It is a coupling of materials never tried before, sealed by an oblique cut; the bearer of a strong styling signature and exceptional know-how.”

PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB

Although it was launched in Paris on 12 June 2012, the PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB was actually created in 2010. The PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB was conceived to take advantage of a wealth of knowledge and experience that comes from over 200 years of industrial creation and 125 years of automobile manufacturing.

Working as a global brand design studio, its objective is to employ the considerable and wide-ranging expertise and facilities at its disposal. This will enable it to develop strong and coherent brand strategies and identities and design products for external clients from any non-automotive sector.

Currently it comprises 10 designers but it is in the unique position of being able to draw on the skills and experience of 6000 engineers from within PSA Group. It is headed up by Cathal Loughnane, an Irishman who spent 10 years working in interior and concept car designs for the PSA Group.

What the experts say on… PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB

PEUGEOT styling director Gilles Vidal: “PEUGEOT is one of the rare brands in the world able to claim over 200 years of industrial creativity. Since its beginnings, PEUGEOT has designed and manufactured thousands of objects, whether for domestic and daily use, or to provide mobility: objects for the kitchen, tools, bicycles, motorcycles, cars… All of these are evidence of our multi-faceted industrial know-how and our ability to use new forms to aid function.”

Head of PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB Cathal Loughnane: “Working in the car industry means we have the knowledge of mass production and the knowledge of one-offs with concept cars. Car designers are also trained to absorb the DNA of a company and reproduce that. This places us perfectly to work for companies outside the car industry as well as providing a service of made to order furniture. From a designer’s point of view, working on different things like this can help you discover new things: creatively it brings a lot of flexibility.

The PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB piano for PLEYEL rings out in Milan

On display for the first time in Italy, the PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB’S revolutionary piano will be demonstrated within the Milan Design Week installation by three pianists and feature a dynamic light show. The result of a collaboration between two 200-year old companies, PEUGEOT and PLEYEL, the body and soundboard of the piano are made of wood, the lid and leg from carbon fibre. Development took years of research, study and testing in order to meet the objective of retaining the unique high quality PLEYEL sound which is subtle, colourful, powerful in bass and scintillating in treble.

What the experts say on… PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB piano

Head of PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB Cathal Loughnane: “This was our first major project. We were looking for something innovative; it had to be something that two companies couldn’t do independently but could do together. The piano was perfect. The architecture of the piano has stayed the same for 300 years. By dropping the internals we’ve made it less imposing in a room. This makes it less imposing and gives it movement. It lets an audience see the pianist at work. And it means the pianist hears the sound of the notes immediately, rather than a reflection of the sound as they would from a traditional piano.”

PEUGEOT design over the years

The Anthology Space within 32 Via Tortona is a reminder of how much PEUGEOT has made its mark in many domains over two centuries of industrial design and creation.

Mills: It is estimated that tens of millions of mills for grinding salt, pepper and coffee were made in over a century. Since 1840 there have been more than 100 models in wood, steel, iron, Bakelite, wall mounted and electric powered. Taking account of the various sizes and variants, more than 900 different mills have been made by PEUGEOT Frères. These mills ‑ still made today ‑ are exported throughout the world and remain a benchmark for their durability and the precision of their “Guaranteed for Life” mechanism.

Tools: In 1810 PEUGEOT made its first tool, a saw blade using high quality laminated steel. The range of tools expanded year by year to include laminated blades, forged tools, cutting tools and agricultural tools. Mechanised and electric tools followed. The nineteenth century toolbox exhibited at Milan is an example of the know-how and the diverse range of tools produced by PEUGEOT Frères.

P 102B motorcycle: Launched in 1927, it was the last PEUGEOT with belt drive. Its technical features include a single cylinder two-stroke 170cc engine with a two-speed gearbox. Its maximum speed was 34mph.

Peugimix 1955: Produced in the kitchen equipment department of PEUGEOT’s Audincourt factory, this food mixer was constantly improved over its years in production. Its three models could be used to grind, mix, grate, chop or press fruit for multiple culinary uses.

Aviation: PEUGEOT took an interest in aviation early on. In 1905, a first 14hp V-twin engine was developed to power the Santos-Dumont No. 14 airship. Four years later, PEUGEOT Frères committed to manufacturing and selling engines for aeronautical use and, along with Automobiles Rossel from Sochaux, formed the Société des Constructions Aériennes Rossel-PEUGEOT in November 1909. This company developed the renowned 50hp seven-cylinder radial engine that would be fitted to a Blériot aeroplane. World War One saw the company’s demise and PEUGEOT, alone, developed a 5.6-litre 200hp V8 engine that would be fitted to a Voisin aeroplane. Research was made into V12 and V16 engines of 550 to 600hp but the financial crisis of 1929 put paid to this adventure.

LUXURY GOES EXTREME AS INFINITI AND POLTRONA FRAU JOIN FORCES

Ultimate luxury makeover for Infiniti Q50 and QX70 modelsTwo concepts: good and evil – exemplars of precision and passionUnveiling in Milan for start of the city’s famous Furniture Fair

ROLLE – Two stunning new faces of Infiniti cars will be revealed tomorrow in a “good and evil” pairing designed to shock and seduce in equal measure.

The special Infiniti Q50 and QX70 models are the first one-off fruit of a creative collaboration between two exceptional premium brands: the luxury performance car maker Infiniti and renowned Italian furniture and leather specialist Poltrona Frau.

The cars are being unveiled at an exclusive Poltrona Frau event in Milan on the occasion of the 2014 Salone Internazionale del Mobile di Milano, the world famous Milan Furniture Fair which runs from 8-13 April. Both the one-off models have been transformed at Poltrona Frau’s HQ in Tolentino, Italy, using techniques and materials from its award-winning furniture collection.

“This was a great opportunity for two premium, luxury brands to work together. The project started very naturally, based on mutual appreciation and respect for each other’s unique brand spirit and vision”, said Shiro Nakamura, Infiniti’s Chief Creative Officer.

“The Infiniti design team was highly inspired by Poltrona Frau’s modernity, coupled with a great historic heritage and overwhelming craftsmanship.

“The result of our common goal deserves to be exhibited as pure artwork at a special event within the Salone Internazionale del Mobile di Milano in order to provide the public with a provocative opportunity to experience Infiniti’s predominant brand expression.”

The “good” Infiniti Q50, with its pure hybrid power reflected by a gleaming white body and interior of softest white leather, is joined by Infiniti’s design icon, the QX70 – the other half of a very dynamic duo but a car unquestionably from the dark side. Black, mean and V8-powered, the Poltrona Frau QX70 is as menacing as the Poltrona Frau Q50 is innocent.

Despite their polar opposite characters, “good and evil” display the same obsession with precision and passion that characterizes both brands.

“Both the Q50 and the QX70 have strong personalities already,” said Infiniti’s Executive Design Director, Alfonso Albaisa. “With this project we have made those personalities even more vivid so they perfectly capture not just Infiniti’s provocative nature but also our duality of traditional processes and modern outcomes.”

Albaisa added: “Working with Poltrona Frau in such a creative collaboration has opened a door for us into a world of design and craftsmanship outside the luxury automotive establishment.”

Piero Valentini, Managing Director of Poltrona Frau’s Interiors in Motion division, said extending the qualities that have marked out Poltrona Frau’s leather furniture for more than 100 years to an automotive project for Infiniti was a natural move.

“The challenge for us has been to transfer the best from our furniture, the attention to detail and Poltrona Frau signatures, into the cars. Poltrona Frau and Infiniti have a lot in common – elegance, precision and a passion for the details – and we have worked very well together.

“Our approach is that we want to be at the top of the pyramid in everything we do, so it is natural for us to work with Infiniti,” added Valentini.

A large part of the cars’ unique appearance is down to their colour schemes – they are inspired by hues from the Pelle Frau® Colour System leather for home furniture, further reinforcing the link between top-level furniture design and the automotive world.

For the QX70, Infiniti and Poltrona Frau designers decided on Pelle Frau® Soul Salomon Black leather with contrasting leather in Ribes (a dark, blackberry red). Ribes is also the exterior highlight colour, used on the lower bumper sections and grille slats. The roof rails are trimmed in Ribes leather, setting off the special black body, black satin trim and black 21-inch wheels to perfection.

The Q50 is truly a knight in shining white armour: the exterior colour here is Zinco with a Lava (light blue) contrast, again both colours until now more associated with Poltrona Frau furniture than cars. White wheels, satin finish trim and, most indulgently, pure white leather-trimmed exterior mirrors complete the picture.

Poltrona Frau’s softest furniture-grade leather from the Italian firm’s famous 21-step tanning process is used throughout cars, ensuring not just exquisite looks but an unmistakable aura of sensuality. Twenty hides – about 100 sq m – were used in each car, all of them sourced from cattle in Arzignano, near Vicenza.

One hundred different leather sections, ranging in size from large headlining to small trim around the gearshift paddles, had to be hand-cut and hand-applied to each car. Virtually every surface inside was given the Poltrona Frau treatment; the cutting, sewing and wrapping alone took three specialists almost 500 hours of work for each car.

The first appearance by “good and evil” is at an exclusive media/VIP unveiling at the Fonderie Napoleoniche exhibition building in Milan, to correspond with an exhibition of the work architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, which runs concurrently with the Milan Furniture Fair.

The Infiniti Q50, available in hybrid, petrol and diesel forms, is a compact four-door sedan whose innovative technology allied to modern luxury has made it Infiniti’s most successful model in Europe since it went on sale in 2013. The QX70 (formerly the Infiniti FX) is the original sports car SUV. Its iconic design and high performance are recognised as class-leading in countries around the world.