design buzz

text Mavis Ang

photos Xtra Designs

playing
Celebrated designer Tom Dixon
still considers himself
an amateur, always going
back to where it all began
his punk roots.

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ritish industrial designer Tom Dixon needs

no introduction in the design world.
From the iconic Cappellini S chair which
thrust his name into the global design scene
in 1992, to the ubiquitous (and much imitated)
Beat lamps that hang from the ceiling of every
other hipster home or cafe, Toms designs are
well-loved for their stimulating silhouettes and
elegant finishing.
Deservingly honoured as Designer of the Year
for Maison & Objet 2014, his unconventional
journey as a designer has taken him from
creating chairs out of salvaged metal scraps to
furnishing glamourous restaurants and hotels
all around Europe, and he sees no reason to
settle on just designing for interiors. Trying his
hand at everything from candles and apparel
to architecture he has managed to stay true
to his own aesthetics by embodying a punk
attitude that sets him apart.

Structural Beauty
Expressive minimalism is the term that he
pegs on his distinct style, and he calls himself a
vertebrae designer. Im always interested in the
structure and bones of the product, rather than just
its skin, Tom elaborates. This is seen clearly in one
of his latest designs, the Y chair (pictured), which is
inspired by the spine and shoulder blades.
In a nod to the human anatomy, Tom created
an ergonomic, hyper-flexible chair designed
to give lumbar support while withstanding
heavy-duty usage. I think products shouldnt be
too decorative. The decoration has to come from
the structure or the material, rather than be another
layer, he states.
In fact, it is the act of making that is at the core
of Toms designs: I spend a lot of time in factories;
I get the best ideas when Im close to a production
process, whether its handcrafted or industrial.
The shapely silhouettes of the Beat lamps, for
example, are inspired by traditional Indian cooking
pots and water vessels, and the lights are spun and
hand-beaten by craftsmen in Northern India.
On the other hand, Tom is propelled by
the digital industrial revolution and its rapid
manufacturing process so much so that he
teamed up with German machinery giant Trumpf to
take its industrial fabricating machines to the Milan
Furniture Fair a couple of years ago to produce the
steel Stamp lamps and chairs from start to finish
on-site, for all to witness.

The Y Chair is made

of glass-reinforced
nylon, allowing it to
withstand heavy-duty
use, and its angular
shape is derived
from ergonomic
considerations.

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punk

below Titled Cog, Toms

latest home accessories
collection heavily
references machine
parts, such as with
this brass-plated solid
aluminium candelabra,
which embodies a
masculine elegance.

Jack of all Trades

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hand-beaten brass
Beat lights were first
launched with a
matte-black external
finish, the range now
comes in brass, grey,
and white exteriors.

59

above While the

The Tunisia-born designer has a slew of projects

under his eponymous design studio. From
travel-friendly apparel for Adidas to the upcoming
360-room Mondrian London hotel designed by
the firms interiors and architecture arm, Design
Research Studio, Tom is always on the lookout
to do something fresh. Whats great about what
Ive managed to create with my label is that
every day can be different. Its like having a new
job every day. Sometimes, Ill be working as an
architect, sometimes a businessman, a sculptor or
an engineer, he muses. And with that, he is able
to create a whole lifestyle, rather than just a range
of products: Im trying to build my world block by
block, brick by brick.
And that usually starts with solving his own
problems. Weve been meaning to do accessories
for a long time, but we thought wed do the
furniture and lighting first so that we could be
taken a bit more seriously, he rationalises, and
the first few collections were a result of things
that we couldnt find ourselves when we set up
the restaurant [The Dock Kitchen at the brands
London headquarters]. And now that hes taking
on more restaurant and bar interior-design projects,
he says that the accessories are necessary to
complete his label.

Keeping it Pure

Tom Dixon furniture and accessories are available

at Xtra Designs, tel: 6336-0688.

Inspired by digital
manufacturing
technologies, Tom
created Ball, a
pendant light formed
by punching, folding
and assembling 12
anodised aluminium
panels together.

The Mass dining

table makes a
bold statement
with its chunky
industrial profile
and metallic finish.
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While the straight-talking designer continues to

leave his distinct mark in a kaleidoscope of fields,
hes confident that hes not spreading himself too
thin. The whole idea is to have a strong point of
view. You can take a specific attitude as long as
its kept quite pure and go into many sectors
without getting lost, Tom asserts.
As a music and bike enthusiast who chanced
upon design when he taught himself how to
repair his motorcycle through welding back
in the 1980s, Tom started creating furniture
by welding scrap metal bits together. And
he intends to keep to his punk roots. He
draws parallels with English punk-rock band
Sex Pistols, who proved to the world that one
doesnt need formal certifications to succeed.
I still look at things in a naive way and do
things differently from others. Ive never been
interested in copying somebody elses model,
says Tom, who counts himself lucky to have
affirmed his aesthetics before the onslaught of
visual influences from the digital era.
As for young designers born into the
Internet age, Tom urges them to diversify: In
the modern world, its important to preserve
your uniqueness. But its getting tougher
and tougher to know what your opinion
is compared to everybody elses, because
everything becomes so popular so quickly now.
Today, you cant just be a designer. You need
to be interested in many other things, from
production to politics.
It is his child-like curiosity and audacity
that keeps him on the forefront of the
design industry; and despite being one of
the most illustrious contemporary designers
of our time, he still proclaims: I always consider
myself an amateur.