In mid-January while the menswear shows were coming to an end and Haute Couture Week was opening in Paris, interior design duo Dimore Studio launched in the French capital its latest collection of textiles for its Progetto Tessuti line.
This wasn't a casual choice for Dimore's Emiliano Salci and Britt Moran: the designers aimed at creating with this new collection a range of fabrics that perfectly embodies the masculine/feminine dichotomy with colours ranging from deep navy blues to softer and powdery tones with decorative floral patterns, besides the fabrics were produced in accordance with artisanal principles reminiscent of couture, combined with innovative techniques.
Some of the textiles were made using heirloom yarns of different thicknesses, then the pieces were enriched with a variety of techniques including embossing, aging, glueing and laminating that allowed the designers to obtain depth when it came to rich and full relief elements and three-dimensional effects on satin, cotton and silk interior fabrics, and contrasts between iridescent and mat effects, plus sophisticated subtle shading of colour tones.
The duo integrated into their collection both jacquard and printed items: most designs are characterised by bold graphic elements that point at geometries inspired by Art Deco or have a strong tactile quality about them; outdoor fabrics integrate instead stylised urban settings and architectural elements.
Founded in Milan in 2003 by Moran and Salci, Dimore works as an architectural and design studio focusing on a wide range of projects – from residential and retail to hospitality, while also producing furniture, interior design objects, textiles and lighting design.
The duo's designs are easily recognisable for their colour-saturated palettes, sophisticated aesthetic and opulent yet controlled style influenced by Milanese rationalist architecture.
Progetto Tessuti, a line of interior and outdoor textiles featuring commissioned art work and original designs on unusual, experimental materials such as grass cloth and thick jacquards with jute and caoutchouc threads, launched in 2015.
This year the duo consolidates its practice with a new label launched in Paris in January – DIMOREMILANO – that unifies all the duo's lines, including Progetto Non Finito (furniture) Progetto Tessuti (fabrics), Progetto Verande (outdoor collection of furniture), Oggetti (decorative objects) and Limited Edition (one-off furnishing designed by Emiliano Salci).
The duo developed several installations for fashion houses including Fendi and worked on the interior design of boutiques by international brands such as Boglioli, Pomellato, Maison Kitsune, Sonia Rykiel and Hermès and you can bet that, even though Dimore Studio's indoor and outdoor textiles were mainly created for elegant curtains and upholstery, at some point, Progetto Tessuti will turn into a proper fashion collaboration.
After all, the more you stare at some of the new textiles and at their geometrical patterns and think about the research behind these pieces, the more you realise they would translate pretty well into garments and accessories.
