Milan 2014: designers Reed and Delphine Krakoff have created a series of "archetypical" seats in grey felt for British brand Established & Sons.
The Felt Series was created for Established & Sons to translate a perceived trend for the matted wool material from the fashion industry into furniture design, and was shown at the brand's exhibition at Istituto dei Ciechi in Milan earlier this month.
"These archetypical furniture forms reinvented in soft felt, have beautifully considered stitch detailing and will follow fashion trend through the seasonal evolution of colour pairings," said a statement from Established & Sons.
American fashion designer Reed Krakoff is former executive creative director for American leather goods company Coach and currently runs his own label, while his French wife Delphine runs an interior design company.
The pieces are based on an original design for a chair the duo created for the first boutiques for Krakoff's eponymous fashion brand in 2010. "Designing a chair isn't that much different from designing a fashion collection. It's still just about telling a story through shape, colour, and form," Krakoff told American Vogue.
All the pieces in the collection are assembled from flat sections of felt, joined with exaggerated, exposed seams and assembled around wooden frames.
The set includes a four-legged chair with a straight back positioned at a right angle to a square seat. A backless version of the chair creates a simple stool and an elongated seat forms a bench.
These minimal shapes were used to highlight the reinvention through material rather than form.
"As with any fashion classic form, elegance and style remain constant while frequent reinvention satisfies personal expression in the fast paced fashion scene," said Established & Sons.
The Felt Series was exhibited by Established & Sons at Istituto Ciechi, 7 Via Vivaio, Milan during the city's design week. See all our coverage of Milan 2014.