Famous fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has presented a sculptures collection inspired by Greek antiquity. It is the first series of sculptural works designed by Lagerfeld.
The series called “Architectures” features eight functional sculptures like gueridons, tables, lamps, consoles, fountains and mirrors.
The series is referred to as “the origin of beauty, culture and modernity” by the designer.
Evoking a contemporary architectural landscape with Greek origins, the unique pieces combine the precision of canonical proportions born from the use of the golden ratio and the most noble material, marble.
Each piece is carved from a carefully selected marble block, the Arabescato Fantastico, a rare vibrant white marble with dark grey veins which has not been quarried for more than thirty years, or black Nero Marquina marble, curated for its brush stroke-like, milky white veins. The combination of the material uniqueness with the timeless designs makes every piece exclusive.
Only available as limited edition of eight pieces in each marble color, plus four artist proofs, each sculptural work is made with the special marble, which is then precisely cut, sculpted, faceted and polished in Italy by the best craftsmen, to achieve the vibrant exactness of the elements.The lighting works diffuse a specific daylight, the designer particularly appreciates, like a laser blade from the future. The shades of the table lamps are distinctively hand-painted in the most traditional technique of decorative arts, pushing the boundaries of craftsmanship and traditions.
Shifting between the antique and the contemporary, the icons of classics and the finest present skills, the black and white architectonic creations embody Karl Lagerfeld’s timeless monochromatic style.
The architect Aline Asmar d’Amman carried out the studies and the development of the works created by Karl Lagerfeld.
Speaking to gallery magazine, architect Aline Asmar d’Amman said about Lagerfeld that “to him, the origin of beauty is traced to Greece.”
He sketched these pieces of furniture and proposed that we develop it, d’Amman said.
“There’s something timeless but also basic and functional about the sculptures,” d’Amman says. “Karl thinks about the comfort and the economy of the piece. He designed the height of each side table to fit a certain moment of the day — like having a cup of tea on the sofa in the morning or if you’re sitting in an armchair in the evening. Everything has an instinctive flow.”
“I’m very drawn to marble because it comes from the earth; it’s natural,” says d’Amman. “It’s born from the compression of layers of earth and sand and the passing years. There’s something mystical about it. You can use it in a modern way or see it in a palazzo in Italy. It’s timeless and noble.”
Karl Lagerfeld’s “Architectures” is at the Carpenter’s Workshop Gallery at 54 rue de La Verrerie in Paris through December 22.
It is not the first time, King Karl has been inspired from the Greek antiquity. His 2017 collection The Modernity of the Antique was a homage and an hymn to Ancient Greece.
Too bad Greek authorities did not allow him to present his Collection in Acropolis and so he brought the Greek Antiquity to Paris.
