As MCM gets functional, designer focuses on story

Lasting designs communicate a story behind objects that is unexpected but familiar on second look, said Alberto Biagetti and Laura Baldassari, founders of the design studio Atelier Biagetti, ahead of presenting their collection at MCM Haus in Seoul.

The exhibition “MCM Wearable Casa Collection,” first shown during Milan Design Week in April and now on show at MCM Haus in Seoul, features seven pieces of furniture that double as clothing and accessories by designer Biagetti and artist Baldassari. The pieces were created in collaboration with luxury fashion and leather goods company MCM.

“Our work is complex and comes from the idea that all the disciplines can be used together,” Biagetti said in an interview with The Korea Herald on Monday. “So the object’s design is something that is more of an experience than a furniture piece.”

Experience in this instance centers on expanding the narrative that the comforts of home can be felt anywhere, Biagetti explained. He alluded to contemporary nomadism -- a dynamic lifestyle of people always on the move -- when introducing his designs.

One of the objects on exhibit is the Magic Gilet -- an inflexible leather utility vest meant to be portable, self-standing storage at home when not worn.

With The Chatty Sofa, a cream upholstered loveseat, you can take a piece of home with you wherever you go. The bulging sofa’s form spells out the word “casa,” Italian for home, and has a neck pillow attached to the center of the letter “C.”

The exhibition’s theme touches on a merging of cultures, Biagetti added.

The 53-year-old Italian designer puts an eclectic spin on Tatamu, leather mats that fold into a daybed, by coloring the mats red, yellow and blue in line with the primary colors of the German design school Bauhaus.

“Every object has a DNA,” Biagetti noted. “When we judge the final work, we don’t do aesthetics. We ask, ‘Is it an experience or not?’” Biagetti said of how he tries to weave a unique story behind his creations so they stay timeless.

That thinking has industry-wide applications, said Sabine Brunner, president and global commercial and brand officer at MCM.

“The product that we want to have should be lasting forever, should be timeless so that you can keep it for a very long time and continue to use it. We don’t want to waste anymore,” Brunner said during a preopening tour Monday, referring to industry concerns over sustainability.

MCM is just as serious about being utilitarian, Brunner added.

“(We’re after) a mix of luxury and utilitarian and we’re going to call it ‘luxtarian’ and this is a concept that we want to really develop properly and make it the center of MCM,” Brunner said, emphasizing how the luxury house plans to strategize its business operations. Consolidations rather than expansions are on the table, she added.

“MCM Wearable Casa Collection” runs through Oct. 6 at MCM Haus in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.