Furniture follows fashion in the new Telami x Odeeh collaboration

Art influences fashion. Or is the reverse true? Whichever way around it is, it’s clear that the two disciplines are intrinsically interwoven and continuously flirt with one another, winking at each other at galleries and blowing kisses across the runway. This relationship has naturally extended into the world of interior design.

One of the most mainstream examples can be seen in the IKEA collection designed by Virgil Abloh, Louis Vuitton's newly appointed artistic director for menswear. In this particular case, Abloh plasters his well-known design motifs on rugs and the iconic IKEA shopping bags. But this kind of crossover between interior design and fashion can also engender a great deal of nuance and grace.

Take for example the recent collaboration between Berlin-based fashion design duo ODEEH and Italian furniture brand Telami, founded by Leo Prusicki, CEO. The two-part debut presentation—half furniture installation, half fashion show—took place in the sprawling green garden of the Schinkel Pavillon during the Berliner Mode Salon in July. ODEEH's Otto Drögsler and Jörg Ehrlich applied their chicly playful take on textile design to Telami's updated-classic Tripolina-chair designs. Quality, craftsmanship, and daring style were at the forefront.

Upon being corralled into the garden, the stylish crowd encountered the fruit of the collaboration between the two labels: Around 20 of the Telami's Tripolina chairs stood in a roped-off area, facing different orientations. Elegant in form; whimsical in color. When, after the show, I caught Otto Drögsler, he explained the inspiration for the prints. "We wanted to play with the Hawaiian print, and this idea of an eternal summer."

These Hawaii-inspired patterns make up the base layer of the floral and organic prints. With a familiar ODEEH gesture, clean, graphic patterns are overlaid—an intentional tipping-of-the-hat to Gio Ponti's bold shapes of the 1950s, Otto explains, adding both boldly colored and historically inclined strata to the textile design.

Just as thumping music begins to play, the back doors to the Crown Prince’s Palace open, and, one by one, sleek models come strutting out in single-file. They come to a halt in a rehearsed, scattered formation on the steps. Applause. The models then descended the steps and began walking the perimeter of the roped-off area—the grass their runway—as the gathered quietly fanned themselves and documented the event for their eager Instagram followers. The models, as choreographed, stopped by various chairs—some sitting, some standing—in seemingly the best-dressed iteration of musical chairs that I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing. The models were dressed in the newest ODEEH collection, the fabric of the clothes whispering references to the fabrics on the chairs. Voluminous, sheer sleeves billowed out of the structured, tailored vests. The textiles on the models look like the more delicate cousins of those on the chairs, which are printed in Italy on a sturdy, resilient canvas. Some patterns repeat, others are unique, but there seems to be a clear conversation between the two collections.

Telami x Odeeh show at the Schinkel Pavillon during Berlin Fashion Week Photo © Pedro Gething for Pamono
Looking at both collections standing there, it’s clear that the awareness of the dynamic nature of clothing—in that it moves with our bodies—is not lost on the chairs. Otto explained that it’s not entirely different to design with fabric that isn’t meant to move with the body, but rather within a space. This three-dimensional thinking results in the backs of the chairs also being adorned with the lively prints. This chair is not a wallflower.

As for Telami, as Leo Prusicki and his colleague Carola Rho explained to me at the show, the whole team is very excited because "the possibilities of collaboration are endless." This year during Salone del Mobile in Milan, they unveiled an exclusive co-branding with Milanese design gallerist—and one of the most prominent names in design—Rossana Orlandi. Orlandi created a collection of Telami’s Director Chairs clad in Dedar fabrics, a unique mix and match of tartan, houndstooth, and cotton-jacquard weaves.

With a broad horizon ahead of them, Telami will continue seeking out fashion and interior designers who wish to play with the infinite variations of textures, colors and materials to best express the identity and lifestyle of the people choosing them—just as in fashion designers do. Nothing is out of reach. (Not even an exclusive collection for Pamono. Stay tuned…)

• Text by

  • 

    Emma Lucek

    A British-born Pole currently based in Berlin, Emma has a background in research and design. In addition to being Pamono's Design Editor, lately she's been working on critical writing in the fields of art, architecture, and cultural theory, as well as design journalism.

• Photos by

  • 

    Pedro Gething

    Multitalented, full of good ideas, and curious about almost everything—especially his adopted home Berlin—Pedro is a Portuguese-British photographer with a degree in design. We like to have him in the office working on our photos as much as possible, but when we reluctantly let him go, he can be found traveling and just generally exploring the world.