Neri&Hu designs rounded rectangle Hanger coat stand for Offecct

Chinese studio Neri&Hu has designed a minimal coat rack for Offecct that combines metal, leather and concrete.

The Mr O hanger is made from tubular steel bent into a rectangular frame and finished in black, gold or copper.

It rests on a circular base made from concrete and includes leather straps from which to hang bags.

Swedish furniture brand Offecct approached Neri&Hu to design a clothes stand that would address the contrast between home and office use, prompting the studio to choose “details and materials that evoke the harmony between utilitarian and domesticity”.

Studio founders Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu added rounded edges to remove the harshness of the metal and combat its associated coldness.

According to the studio, reducing the size of the base also helped “domesticise” the rail’s appearance and lessen its contact with the floor.

“The coat hanging structure is a celebration of the unadorned nondescript multipurpose furniture in its simplest and modest form,” said Neri&Hu, which recently designed a lattice of brass rods for the interior of a skincare shop in Seoul.

“Like a servant, it does not crave for attention but in its utilitarian approach brings grace, beauty and usefulness to a household.”

The hanger’s small base in particular posed a challenge for the studio, which had to experiment with subtle angle changes to ensure stability without compromising on the stand’s tall and thin shape.

It is not the first time Neri&Hu has designed clothes hangers, having created a continuous railing system for the interior of fashion brand Comme Moi’s first flagship store in Shanghai.

Offecct has partnered with several high-profile designers to create products, including Jasper Morrison – who designed a wooden chair for use in a Tanzanian orphanage – and Claesson Koivisto Rune, which created a table using thin sheets of metal.

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• Design
• Homeware