In the latest Design Dreams video produced by Dezeen for Moooi, Slovenian designer Nika Zupanc describes how her Knitty Chair takes inspiration from huge mooring ropes for ships.
The Knitty Chair is an armchair with a chunky basket-weave design resembling a knotted rope.
The chair is upholstered in a knitted fabric available in 15 colours that features a quilted diamond pattern.
“It is really comfy, generous and of course hopefully also very iconic,” said Zupanc in an exclusive video interview with Dezeen.
“It was inspired by these very big ropes with which very big ships are tied to the ports,” she continued.
“It is trying to change the perspective on things, playing with the scale that we are used to see in our everyday lives.”
According to Zupanc, the industrial settings where such ropes are found stoke her imagination.
“I really like forgotten parts of any city, suburban industrial zones that are usually a little bit melancholic,” she explained. “I love this kind of sadness that you can find in them, and they are full of details.”
Zupanc’s first design for Moooi was the pink Lolita table lamp.
“When we introduced it, it was in a pink colour, which in 2008 was sort of a daring gesture,” she said.
The Lolita lamp was followed by the Golden Chair, a school chair with a retro design upholstered in gold synthetic leather.
“It was really significant for me as an emerging designer,” stated Zupanc.
The Slovenian designer told Dezeen how Moooi champions emerging designers and allows them to realise products without compromising their vision.
“Moooi was one of the few companies that had the courage to invite young, unknown designers to show their work,” she said.
“Big thanks goes to the product development of Moooi. They’re always willing to go a little bit further to find the solutions and really try to do something great”
This video was filmed as part of an ongoing collaboration between Dezeen and Moooi called Design Dreams, which explores how successful designers turned their dreams into reality.
Other videos in the series include designer Andrés Reisinger explaining how his viral Hortensia chair design was brought to life and Rick Tegelaar explaining how the Meshmatics Chandelier he developed at university became one of Moooi’s products.
Partnership content
This video was produced by Dezeen for Moooi as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen’s partnership content here.
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