Piero Lissoni headlines Knoll’s new collection

You know the chairs. You’ve seen them in a million magazine editorials, design books, movies and Instagram.

Even the names roll off the tongue easily: the Barcelona chair, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1929 for the German Pavilion at the Barcelona Expo; the Wassily chair by Marcel Breuer in 1925; the Platner chair and side table by Warren Platner in 1966; the Diamond chair by Harry Bertoia in 1952; the Knoll Sofa by Florence Knoll in 1954; the Womb chair by Eero Saarinen in 1948.

You see these chairs in swanky hotel lobbies, offices and homes, but you’re probably unsure about who manufactures them. They’re made by Knoll, a company founded in New York in 1938 by Hans Knoll, who belonged to the third generation of a family of furniture makers from Stuttgart. “Knoll has always kept faith with the original tenets of the Bauhaus philosophy, according to which modern furniture should complete the architectural space, never compete with it.”

In the Philippines, Knoll is distributed by Living Innovations. Ferdie Ong, founder and general manager, says, “Knoll brought the Bauhaus movement from Europe to the US. And over 40 classics are held in permanent collections in museums around the world, including the Museum Of Modern Art in New York.”

From its classic to its new pieces, “Knoll’s aesthetic is rigorous, modern, architectural and timeless — yes, changes have been done, but it never follows a seasonal trend like fashion, rather, it is always to improve the function.”

The timelessness of a Knoll design is a tradition being continued by Piero Lissoni, architect, designer and art director for Knoll and Minotti, which is also distributed by Living Innovations in the Philippines.

Ferdie says that at Salone Internazionale del Mobile last month, Knoll unveiled Lissoni’s Grasshopper, a collection of tables that expresses a balance between modernity and tradition. It also presented enhancements to Lissoni’s Avio Sofa System, an innovative system of upholstered furniture with a relaxed and informal style, incorporating a metal structure and soft cushions. A mechanism allows the sofa to be split into seemingly two pieces and you can put a table in between. Then there’s the Matrioska, a system of open and closed containers of varying geometries, lightness and simplicity.

Ferdie’s company began distributing Knoll two years ago. He wasn’t the only one who wanted to bring the brand to the Philippines but with Living Innovations — whose portfolio includes some of Europe’s most prestigious brands such as Minotti, Lema, Bang & Olufsen, Gaggenau, Bulthaup and Louis Poulsen — Knoll found the perfect partner.

“We have the experience on how to start up a high-end historical brand in an emerging market and we have the right sensibility to understand that Knoll is not just another catalogue of pieces to be sold, but there it has a legacy, so we have the responsibility to take care of the brand,” he says. “I’ve often been asked how I choose what to distribute here. The answer is simple — I must love their pieces. When people buy from us for their new house, they tell me, ‘Ferdie, I love it, thank you for working with me.’ It makes all the work worthwhile. We’ve had clients that furnish their whole houses with our brands and also those who upgrade from affordable to more luxury pieces. For us, it’s a long-term strategy. Five years from now, you’ll still be able to call us and we will say, ‘How can we help you?’”

For sure, Knoll caters to a niche market given its prices but that niche is composed of people who are passionate about design.

“We have two demographics,” Ferdie says. “One is the person who is nostalgic, who has always liked the designs but maybe couldn’t afford it before. Second are younger ones, the millennials or Gen X, they always see it in magazines or movies and possibly didn’t think they’re classics. Or they saw it in their parents’ house and want one for themselves too.”

In the showroom of Living Innovations, Ferdie points at the iconic pieces and their “Relax” versions. The Barcelona chair, for instance, now has thicker cushioning and is a bit taller. 

“The original is harder, the new Relax version is more comfortable,” says Ferdie. “It now has more down feather and is 30 percent more malambot. The Barcelona chair was actually meant for the office, but people loved the design and put it in their homes. Five years ago, Knoll decided to release Relax versions for some pieces and they are more proportioned to today’s users.”

The Bertoia Diamond chair — looking more of a sculpture than a chair — now also comes in 18k gold finish in honor of the designer’s 100th birthday.

Having attended Salone last month in Milan, Ferdie was inspired by the optimism of the show.

“Last year, there was an atmosphere of sadness because Europe was experiencing a lot of problems. Some companies just repainted their booths. But this year, you could feel that there was hope that things would get better, it was more upbeat and festive.  People wanted to see extravagant things, the exhibits were more out of the box. Before, they’d exhibit one or two chairs that they’d literally put on a pedestal, kasi mahal gumawa ng buong collection, but this year, the setups were all about stories and vignettes. The pieces were not necessarily from the same timeline, but a mix of classic and modern. They wanted people not just to see their brand, but also to experience and understand what their brand stands for.” 

Another big trend that Fredie saw was emerald green “as the new green.” In terms of mixing pieces, “Outdoor sofas are now made to complement their indoor counterparts, which means improving their comfort and functionality. There is also an abundance of warmer finishes and colors.”

Ferdie adds, “The past is the new future. In a way, it’s what Knoll stands for — ‘Always Modern.’ Their iconic pieces from 90 years ago are so timeless they’re considered modern today as they were then.”

People are also paying much more attention to the quality of their closets. “There are brands that didn’t use to make wardrobes or closets but have now branched into this market. We have Lema and Manila is ready for imported wardrobes made with rich materials and finishes.”

In Salone, he says, Lema launched new collections that balanced shapes, colors and materials. What brings the designs together is the theme of the comfort and harmony of slow living, conviviality, relaxation and warmth. 

The made-to-measure wardrobes have the revolutionary Lema “Air Cleaning System,” a patented technology presented for the very first time at Salone.

“It  deodorizes the closets and there’s circulating air inside,” explains Ferdie. “ If you have a P1-million crocodile bag, where you put it is important. You just don’t stick it in a humid closet. People now spend more on closets than on their kitchens. I think it’s because people spend more time in their personal spaces. If it’s more organized, you spend less time looking for stuff.”

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Visit the author’s travel blog at www.findingmyway.net. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @iamtanyalara.

The Living Innovations showroom is located on the ground floor of Fort Victoria, 5th Ave., Corner 23rd Street, BGC. For inquiries, call 743-3243, 828-8722, log on to http://livinginnovations.ph and email info@livinginnovations.ph.