A DJ booth, a gym bench and a giant sofa with an integrated iPad holder feature in this collection of collectible denim-clad furniture that designer Harry Nuriev is exhibiting at Carpenters Workshop Gallery in Paris.
Taking over the gallery's entire ground floor, the Denim exhibition reinvents the iconic American fabric by applying it to unexpected everyday items.
"Denim has been adopted by everyone from miners and cowboys to Hollywood celebrities over the past two centuries," said Carpenters Workshop Gallery.
"[It] is a fabric closely related to the concept of the American dream, and Nuriev explores this symbolism in his ultra-contemporary series."
The modular collection goes beyond the bounds of furniture to include homeware and gym equipment, spanning everything from wall-hung storage pockets to denim-sheathed dumbbells.
In this way, Nuriev aimed to illustrate how our post-pandemic homes are increasingly serving functions beyond just providing us with places to sleep.
"As our life has changed so much in the past years, we've started spending more time at home, on our sofas," Nuriev told Dezeen. "Instead of fighting this fact, I decided to embrace it."
This idea is perhaps most clearly illustrated in the Denim sofa, which resembles a cross between a huge mattress and a conversation pit.
Its exaggerated dimensions allow for the addition of tables, shelving and bright-pink monitor stands for holding everything from iPads to TVs.
"I wanted the sofa to become a place in and of itself — one where you can eat, relax, work, sleep," Nuriev said.
"In the same way that you layer your jeans, T-shirts and jackets in the order you want, I want my furniture to adapt and shape itself according to the user's wishes."
Within the gallery, these pieces are displayed in various configurations to suggest a whole apartment, complete with a modular vanity, DJ booth and a grand dining table with 12 cubes for seats.
"I think my favourite piece is probably the DJ booth because it brings people together, not just in a party context but as a meeting space," Nuriev said. "And the vanity, too."
The exhibition follows Nuriev's previous experiments in merging fashion and furniture, which saw him stuff a transparent vinyl sofa with Balenciaga clothing and upholster a virtual sofa in neon-green Nike jackets.
"It's part of my philosophy of transformism – bringing materials from other contexts, such as fashion, in order to dress a space like I would myself," the designer said.
Based between Paris and New York, Nuriev is the founder of design practice Crosby Studios and Denim is his first solo show since being represented by Carpenters Workshop Gallery.
The photography is by Benjamin Baccarani.
Denim is on display at Carpenters Workshop Gallery in Paris from 4 March to 13 May 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.