Italian architect and industrial designer Maurizio Peregalli has long been intrigued by the relationship between design, fashion and art. For this reason, he and some of his peers decided to merge the three disciplines in an experimental company with the purposefully supercilious name Zeus. Zeus soon evolved into a boutique that designed and produced its own series of fashion and design furniture collections.
In a continued quest to illustrate how design interacts with other cultural practices, Luminaire welcomed Peregalli to the Miami showroom to share his latest designs for Armani and the Zeus collection. As the Art Director of Zeus, Peregalli makes use of industrial materials. The Zeus Ginger seating series, for instance, includes a stacking chair, armchair, and stools that feature a .59″ square steel tube frame with seat and back in either silver epoxy painted metal or natural wood.
According to Peregalli, the recent objects for Zeus and Armani were \”designed for relaxing and thinking, not for showing off or astounding: they were designed to be used.\” Simple, clean aesthetics and economical, functional materials are hallmarks of Peregalli’s work, and the austere elegance of his latest designs make them perfect for high-end fashion boutiques like Armani as they reflect one another’s design philosophy.
Peregalli’s work has often provided inspiration young designers working in the modernist tradition. Likewise, guests at the Luminaire discussion were enthused by the joyfulness and sophistication of his work for Zeus and Armani, seeing how fashion and furniture design can often serve to nourish one another in new and inspiring ways.
Friday, January 1, 1993
