Frag will be present this year at the Salone del Mobile.Milano Shanghai, the trade fair at the prestigious Shanghai Exhibition Centre on the city’s Yan’an Road, where numerous cultural events take place. This year the company will be occupying a strategic position in a new and larger space to assist development of a stronger marketing presence in the region.
Indeed, Frag – with its tradition of working with leather and saddle leather stretching back almost a century, its contemporary product lines and its sophisticated, timeless style – responds to the new ideal of Italian luxury living exported to the East. The products of the brand meet a trend in China that increasingly seeks refined Made in Italy craftsmanship and attention to detail. Furthermore, the company’s ability to mix leather and saddle leather with different materials finds its maximum expression in the creation of tailor-made pieces, made for contract and the design clients, with upholstery and colours customisable on request.
The striking stand, designed this year again by Ferruccio Laviani, takes the form of a colonnade leading past rooms that are alternately concealed and revealed. Best-selling products and new collections enliven domestic and contract settings, suggesting a lifestyle enhanced by products of various kinds and inspired by contemporary and international elegance. A number of products presented during the previous Salone del Mobile, the well-known Milan Furniture Fair, are being revealed for the first time in China at the Shanghai Fair.
Wilton, a new collection of modular sofas designed by Christophe Pillet, inaugurates a new season within the Frag universe. In fact, Frag has worked on various types of upholstery and will be offering a number of modular sofa collections, starting this year. An important step, aimed at making the company’s proposal of a complete lifestyle ever more articulated.
In addition to Wilton, the 2019 collection being presented in Shanghai includes the Motif range of small tables, designed by Andrea Mancuso – Analogia Project. This product demonstrates Frag’s expertise in leather and saddle leather processing and its ability to maintain an elegant and essential profile, even in designs of a more decorative nature. For the Shanghai fair, Frag furnishings are presented in various dining and living areas, plus, for the first time, a sleeping area, with the new Otto bed produced exclusively for the Chinese market.
The first dining area includes the Artù table and Elf chairs.
The archetypical round dining table, Artù by Michele di Fonzo, with its impressive shape and distinguished appearance, is suitable for the most luxurious dining areas and elegant meeting rooms. The base of the table consists of a square cut cone upholstered in soft leather, enhanced by a burnished brass base and profiling. It is a piece with a strong personality that makes an immediate statement. The top surface, in marbles from our collection, is embellished in the 180 and 200 versions by a burnished brass bar, dividing the marble into two semicircles to match the profiles of the base. A marble Lazy Susan is available as an accessory.
Elf is the series of leather chairs designed by Gordon Guillaumier. The Maltese designer has masterfully produced one of our most popular pieces – the chair upholstered entirely in leather – creating an object with an original curved design and an extremely contemporary air.
This collection has a clean-cut profile with no lack of comfort, thanks to the soft upholstery. Elf is available with or without armrests, with a high or low back, and with various finishes to suit a wide range of requirements and contexts.
A small lounge area features the Clubby collection and the Doni table.
Christophe Pillet is the designer of Clubby: a club armchair and pouf of rounded contours, inspired by the chairs found in Parisian fumoirs. The proportions and lines of this series make it ideal for public areas and the uses commonly requested by contract clients.
The chair has a cylindrical frame acting as a seat, with a semicircular back, upholstered and enclosed by an enveloping shell on the back. Thanks to a variety of finishes and upholstery, the shell is the main feature of the design, leaving ample room for creative inspiration: saddle leather shell and leather upholstery, single-texture with leather or fabric throughout, or leather on the outside and fabric on the inside. There are also special versions with a shell made from braided leather, ideal for bespoke designs.
The Clubby pouf simplifies the lines of this series, again featuring the rounded contours and decorative aspect, and with the same upholstered cylinder and revolving brass base.
Doni is a lounge dining table with basic lines, designed by Giofra. The base, consisting of a cylinder and a round disk in lacquered steel or in a gold finish, like a graphic mark supports the round top made of prized Emperador marble, the delicate metallic lightness making a striking contrast to the aesthetic solidity of marble. Doni has elegance and ideal proportions, 85 cm in diameter and 62 cm high, with a profile to grace sophisticated and intimate lounge areas.
Passing through the exhibition, the first living area comprises a Winnie sofa and lounge chair, Motif accent tables and Bak bookcases.
The Winnie family includes a lounge chair and sofa designed by mist-o. Its generous shape and padding invite relaxation, while the leather-upholstered shell forms a nest shape. A single U-shaped cushion, upholstered in leather, forms a refuge, a private space to nestle into, surrounded by the comforting softness of the materials. The cocooning effect is visually accentuated by the delicate pleats on the cushion, enhancing the roundness of the sofa and giving it an informal aspect that contrasts perfectly with the sharp lines of the seat frame.
Four metal feet support the sofa, making the design light and almost ethereal despite its large size, contrasting clean lines with soft, flowing shapes.
The Motif range of accent tables is designed by Andrea Mancuso – Analogia Project. The heart and soul of Motif lies in the ornate and decorative aesthetic of the tabletop, and the contrast this creates with the simplicity of the reinforced metal square section frame which defines the legs and four crossed planks that bring them together. The saddle leather inlay design of the tabletop is carried out with a high-precision cut of the saddle leather into different shapes, which are then stitched together with meticulous craftsmanship.
The design begins with the repetition of a circle, forming a pattern which varies according to the choice of colours of the elements which form it. The different colour options make the Motif table a “tailored” item, with the option to personalise it with a range of shades and tones.
Ferruccio Laviani designed the Bak bookcase, experimenting with well-thought out structural contrasts. The frame consists of three rectangular perimeters in dark tubular brushed steel, which intersect each other to form both a support and a characterising detail. The two metal side shoulders are lined and decorated with strips of soft leather, except at the junctions, where the metallic finish remains visible and creates a further refinement that accentuates the geometry. Four walnut shelves complete the design, perfectly balancing the lightness of the metal structure with the strength of the wood.
The new bookcase is an addition to the Bak collection, a family designed by Ferruccio Laviani for Frag and comprising a range of accessories for living spaces and bedrooms.
The second living area includes the new Wilton sofa, Square accent tables, the Cocoon pouf and lounge chair, and the Privè low cupboard.
The Wilton family, by French designer Christophe Pillet, has an elegance based on simplicity. The clean lines of the frame, appearing to consist of slightly rounded rectangles and forming a kind of origami nest, typify the square profile of this family. The soft cushions and generous seat dimensions encourage relaxation and a different kind of conviviality. Four slender metal feet lend the collection an air of lightness. The ability to mix different upholsteries opens the door to several variants: – mono-material, in saddle leather or fabric – or bi-material, with a leather or fabric shell and cushions upholstered in leather or fabric. The Wilton family includes closed sofas and a modular range of corner elements, peninsulas and chaises longues that can be assembled to furnish spaces of various shapes and sizes.
Dainelli Studio designs the Cocoon lounge chair and footrest, which combine enveloping, harmonious, balanced lines with skilfully-paired materials. The lounge chair has a walnut base and feet, to which the saddle leather shell is attached, acting as back and arm rests. The Cocoon Lounge chair is the perfect blend of aesthetic formalism and comfort, underlining Frag’s ability to mix and work with different materials and coverings at the same time.
The Cocoon footrest incorporates the smaller wooden walnut base of the lounge chair, with the addition of a leather cushion. The ideal accessory to the chair thanks to its personality, this is a piece that is also perfect as a stand-alone feature.
The Square Collection is a series with angular lines designed by Christophe Pillet, composed of armchair, lounge chair, stool and accent tables. Four slender metal legs provide structure and a distinctive line, adding length and lightness to these minimalist designs whose only real concession to frivolity is the detailing on the metal feet.
Christophe Pillet designs Privè, a range of storage furniture that blends 1960s inspiration, contemporary lines and precious materials, turning attention to detail into its own characteristic charm. The Privè concept combines elements with a sound texture – such as the walnut chest, the glass shelves and the leather details in the top and accessories – together with a design made up of slim lines, 45° borders and the subtlety of the four slim feet in dark brushed steel.
The collection includes two low cupboards and one taller one, each finished on all sides, allowing Privè to be sited anywhere in the house. Pillet’s design, perfect as a centrepiece in a spacious living room, against a wall in the dining room or in an entrance hall, creates an object that welcomes, reveals and hides; a special place, intimate and public at the same time.
In one of the low cupboards, the chest is divided into three spaces: the first has a hinged door, the second, containing three shallow and elegant drawers, can be customised by the addition of a sophisticated cutlery tray with leather detailing, and the third has a hinged door and half-depth glass shelf.
In the other low cupboard, the central space is left open and divided in two by a half-depth glass shelf, with two hinged doors that open to reveal shelves at various heights, allowing all kinds of objects to be stored ready to hand.
In the tall sideboard, the wooden chest is narrower and higher, with a vertical trend. The lower part has a double hinged door to a half-height shelf, convenient for storing prized wines and glassware. Immediately above it, a long, shallow drawer is surmounted by an open space that can be used to display books and other valued items.
