In this extract, Elio Fiorucci goes into depth commenting on his ceramic slab prototype designed for DesignTaleStudio, and on “the mouth” as a positive visual archetype with a huge semantic potential yet easily understandable even though it was difficult to draw. The intense use of colour and the sensation of global sweetness and sensuality make this ceramic slab a “100% Fiorucci” work of art.

We have divided the speech Elio Fiorucci gave at the Stefano Forni gallery during the opening of the Grand Design Tour into 3 parts. This is the first extract.

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Fiorucci underlines the key role of ceramics in contemporary design as well as the forsaking, by many architects, of the limited “functional” rationale of ceramic tiles: today ceramic is the perfect material for decoration thanks to its resistance and, at the same time, its strong aesthetic potential.

The main problem we came across while setting-up the “Meta Design” exhibition, was that of doing justice to the sheer beauty brought to the real world by DesignTaleSudio’s ceramics. The Pareti d’Autore where meant to be main cladding surface and works of art all at the same time, therefore, they had to, without compromise, “stand out” the best way possible.

The majority of the interior floors and wall-tiles we see on Second Life fall into two categories: the “ordinary” ones (flat surfaces, characterised by a feel of “comfortable” minimalism and with no basic aesthetic research) and the “grotesque” (textures which struggle to emulate real materials such as parquet, marble and stone with the use of photographic images). At the moment, perhaps the most interesting creations are those which use semi-transparent, opaque material, such as large, slightly reflective windows or plastic panels.

Ceramic has proven still difficult to use on Second Life, but with a bit of extra effort we believe we managed a better result than expected. In our opinion, the concept of the traditional ceramic tile as we know it, that is to say, a small glazed tile, is verging to grotesque, especially when the surface is reflective and the installation pattern conveys a very “grid-like” effect. The result is a kind of mural of identical repeated images where the real-life luminous qualities of the tile are reduced to whitish geometric shapes, mechanically repeated in an un-natural way. With larger sizes the same problem is slightly reduced though still visible: it is therefore better to use opaque products where graphics outshine the tactile and visual effects of the material.

Various slabs designed by famous personalities, such as those of Rashid, Fiorucci and Bermudez, actually did have these very characteristics and it was therefore relatively easy to display them effectively. But it was a different story for the totem designed by De Lucchi and, especially, the DesignTaleStudio’s Pareti d’Autore, whose light and material effects of the three-dimensional surface had to be reproduced. The solution we came up with was to use photographs of the products whose reflections had been partially reduced. In the case of De Lucchi’s work, the surface of the slabs was a single image, previously created with Photoshop by delaying the overall light of the original “amateurish” photo taken during the Design On Stage exhibition. But the Pareti d’Autore, especially the overly iridescent “unphotographable” ones like the Gold and Platinum, worked better if used as decoration rather than repeated backdrop. After being slightly retouched via computer and loaded on Second Life with the maximum resolution possible, the images from afar recaptured all the energy of the original designs while the close-up showed the fascination of their softness to the touch and light.

Yesterday the day at Design On Stage was dedicated to Elio Fiorucci, the fashion and all-round communication guru, and collaborator from the very outset of DesignTaleStudio. The meeting with Elio centred around the launch of “The Mouth”, the porcelain stoneware slab he created for DesignTaleStudio, pure synthesis of a concept that, from time and memorial, is based on sensuality and young and free spirit.

Despite more than 400 visitors in less just over 2 hours, the atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant, in keeping with the spirit of Design On Stage. A big part of this was, as can be seen from the video, the contribution of Fiorucci himself, who was always courteous and fascinating in his “chats on microphone” that saw him as the protagonist when talking to the watching journalists and members of the public.

Fiorucci’s spoke on a wide range of subjects, but always preaching his passion and love of life and his work. From the spirituality of art to ceramics to fashion. One poignant moment was when he spoke of his latest project, Love Therapy, placing its roots in the characteristic mood of his famed store in Corso Vittorio Emanuele, “a place where one was always certain that no harm could came of you”.

For us, who worked so hard to plan the event, the meeting with Fiorucci was a veritable injection of enthusiasm. What about you? Leave your comments here, and if you took any photos, please send them to us, we will publish them on the blog.

This afternoon’s meeting at the Triennale is with Michele De Lucchi (we will post it on the blog tomorrow).

Just one week is missing until Design on Stage, one of the “coolest” events that you could ever visit during the Salone del Mobile exhibition in Milan! From April 18 to 23 at the Triennale in Milan the chance to meet your favourite designer in a surreal and glamourous setting, an Art Gallery built on the same Works exhibited: DesignTaleStudio’s Pareti d’Autore.

The guest list is complete and the calendar is set. The porcelain stoneware slabs that the guests have designed are now ready, and even if we can’t reveal anything about them, we are really hyped-up about the results. The works are signed by leading figures in the world of design , fashion and art such as Sandra Bermudez, Michele De Lucchi, Elio Fiorucci, Peter Halley, Romina Power, Karim Rashid. Different personalities from varying artistic backgrounds who, thanks to DesignTaleStudio, have found a “fil rouge”, a common artistic code. Being able to join different visions and methods of working has been exciting, always endeavoring to communicate the great creative potential of Pareti d’Autore. Each single artist, as you can well imagine, has given a personal interpretation of the project, perfectly summarizing his/her own personality on ceramic.

The event will be captured by Claudio Porcarelli, the famous photographer of the stars, who has been invited to take portraits of the guests (and not only). Therefore, the event will also be an exclusive photographic set, through which Porcarelli will give his personal view on the world of Design. During the event Claudio Porcarelli will create a “work in progress” in front of the audience, capturing the identity of the celebrities: the set will change every day creating a visual track of the guest stars present at the exhibition. As for the blog, we will tell you about Design on Stage adding live contents throughout the event and publishing interviews and images during the following weeks.

A real baptism of fire for DesignTaleStudio after the event held in September in Bologna: the Salone del Mobile exhibition in Milan, core of the design world for 6 days. Over the past few weeks we have been completely immersed in the organization of the event and to be honest, the stress level is high: yet seeing the evolution of Design On Stage day after day is really firing us up. The communication campaign was launched a few days ago and we already have one hundred registrations, mainly designers, students of architecture, many of them foreigners.

What are you expecting from Design On Stage and its guests? We invite you to leave your comments and of course… to register to the event if you haven’t done it yet, we are also waiting for you at the Triennale.