Modernism Reimagined: MENU Spring 2016

It’s the start of the annual design and furniture fairs – northmodern, IMM cologne, Maison & Objet Paris and Stockholm Furniture Fair should be on your radar – which means all the top brands are revealing their latest designs. One of my Scandi favourites is MENU (which I’ve written about before here) whose ethos I greatly admire.

Their philosophy is simple: they’re (like me) obsessed with clever solutions for modern living and want to make beautiful objects for everyday use. Collaborating with super-talented designers, their crisp, carefully considered, minimalist furniture is designed to last and fill the home with functional but ultimately beautiful little touches. ‘We want to make the world better, less complicated, a little bit nicer to wake up to,’ they say.

This is their Spring 2016 lookbook entitled Modernism Imagined (with the title alone, I already like it…). As always, the styling is immaculate. The images have got a lovely retro mid-century vibe, with moody lighting and a backdrop of speckled marble and Mad Men-era, dark wooden panelling. You can just imagine someone casually dropping onto the daybed above, stiff whisky in hand and smoke fumes drifting into the air. I’ll let the rest of the images do the talking…

These are two of my favourite pieces from the new collection. Norm Architects’ Stone Lamp, above, references the Danish word Hygge and the country’s love of candles. The mouth-blown bulb sits on a ceramic base, mimicking the soft glow of candlelight.

The JWDA Lamp, below, is by Swedish designer Jonas Wagell. Inspired by traditional oil lamps, it’s a classic design with a modern twist: a bulbous white bulb atop a brass and steel base.

Images: courtesy MENU