Though it’s not his first attempt at interior design, «the challenging part was working with pre-existing timeless pieces», said Kiko Kostadinov to Lampoon
Lampoon in conversation with Kiko Kostadinov
Bulgarian-born, London-raised Kiko Kostadinov is a jack of all creative trades, with a Midas touch re-invigorating everything from dad sneakers to trenchcoats. His designs started making waves before he even finished his masters degree at Central Saint Martins. Now, less than a decade into his career, he has one more impressive feat to stuff his ever-expanding resume with: a re-imagination of iconic interior design pieces by Japanese architect Kazuhide Takahama (1930-2010), facilitated by Paradisoterrestre. As is usually the case with Kostadinov’s collaborations, it happened organically.
«I guess the very start of the conversation was just me researching Takahama and purchasing a few items from Paradisoterrestre», he said. Then, during last year’s Milano Design Week, he wanted to see Dino Gavina’s La Casa Nella Casa, a centerpiece of the exhibition at ADI Design Museum Compasso d’Oro, where he met Gherardo Tonelli for the first time – and the rest is history.
Takahama x Kostadinov: how it came to be
Though Kostadinov never officially ventured into interior design before, he is not completely green, either: «I’ve been very involved in store installation and fashion show layout and design since the start of my brand, so it wasn’t something totally new. The challenging part was working with pre-existing timeless pieces».
The collaboration revolves around the reissue of the Naeko ceiling lamp, which is now available in the Paradisoterrestre catalog. Takahama designed the lamp in 1984 for the brand’s founder and all-around entrepreneur Dino Gavina. Drawing inspiration from the architect’s exploratory sketches, Kostadinov interpreted the object’s possibilities through his own perspective.
Paying tribute to Kiko’s fellow designer and future wife Deanna Fanning
The design was named after Takahama’s wife Naeko, and Kostadinov followed in his footsteps by honoring his future wife and fellow designer Deanna Fanning – who along with her sister Laura lead the Kiko Kostadinov womenswear line.
«In the past year I’ve been referencing my fiancées graduate work and she is very strong with colors and graphics, which [was] the spark to push that idea further». The collaboration is completed by the Naeko sofa and Naeko armchair, featured in the Paradisoterrestre catalog since 2017. Initially the sofa, produced in metal by Gavina SPA, took the shape of a daybed with a reclining backrest.
It was received so enthusiastically that in 1958 a second, wooden version was created. Nearly seven decades later, Kostadinov revamped it using two different fabrics: custom jacquard and, in another nod to his fiancée, Kvadrat material from the Fanning sisters’ graduate collection.
Kiko Kostadinov: a multi-hyphenate success
Time and time again, Kostadinov’s creativity refuses to be put in a box, making it a no-brainer that he’d feature in Forbes Europe’s 30 under 30 in The Arts category. Though designing menswear is his main claim to fame, he continuously pushes himself out of his comfort zone – or perhaps simply follows his curiosity, as evidenced by his eclectic portfolio of collaborations.
Kostadinov’s collaboration with Stussy was one of his earliest and most impactful partnerships. In 2013, after repurposing some Stussy pieces to create bespoke garments for a magazine editorial, he was asked to create a capsule collection for the iconic streetwear brand – it became an instant favorite among streetwear enthusiasts.
In 2017, he was approached by Mackintosh to design a line of raincoats that would blend the British outerwear brand’s heritage with Kostadinov’s futuristic aesthetic. The collection, released under the name “0001,” featured a range of coats and jackets in clean, sleek shapes and timeless styles. The result was praised for its fresh approach to rainwear and the ability to fuse traditional and contemporary design elements.
Kiko Kostadinov collaboration with Asics
Arguably, the highlight of Kostadinov’s career thus far is his collaboration with Asics, the Japanese footwear brand. Unlike most design partnerships, which focus on embellishing existing styles, Kostadinov has created his own custom sole for Asics – despite it being a complex and labor-intensive part of the process, which can take several years to develop.
It was the first time the brand invited an outsider to so. The sole, called the GEL-Kiril, was named after the designer’s given name. His recent exploration of footwear includes a workwear-inspired collaboration with the Spanish brand Camper. Expanding on his achievements in the fashion industry, Kostadinov has also been progressively venturing into art: he has held solo exhibits at Jeffrey Stark in New York (2022), Morán Morán in Los Angeles (2019), and collaborated with vanillajellaba at the Serpentine Pavilion in London (2019), curated by Hans-Ulrich Obrist.
Kazuhido Takahama merging East and West
Though Takahama’s work seems like the embodiment of Japanese minimalism, his influences are far from homogenous, reflecting a range of Western influences like Dadaism. He was born in Miyazaki on the Japanese island of Kyushu and studied architecture at the Tokyo Institute of Technology before his employment at architect Kazuo Fujioka’s firm. Similarly to his successor Kostadinov, Takahama’s partnership with Paradisoterrestre originated organically from a chance meeting at an art event.
In 1957, at the tender age of 27, he was commissioned to design the Japanese Pavilion at XI Triennale di Milano, where he met Gavina. What followed was a life-long collaboration and life-altering friendship, resulting in Takahama (as well as his wife Naoko and daughter Kaori) permanently moving to Bologna in 1963. The family welcomed two more daughters, Kazuki and Saori – all of them later lending their names to various designs. The architect worked with Gavina on Bologna’s The Centre Duchamp, a venue for creative development, in 1967, and though over the years their collaboration would reach across all of Gavina’s brands, the Naoko sofa remained one of the bestselling pieces.
Kazuhido Takahama’s design legacy
Throughout his lengthy body of work, several themes kept recurring: notably, slender metal profiles, like the Tulu chair, Gaja stool, Djuna table and Iside chairs, designed for Ultramobile in 1991. He also continued to blend modernist design with artisanal Japanese traditions like lacquerware. In the early 1980s, his friend Mario Lispi organized a ceramics art exhibition and asked Takahama to design a piece. The result was Elmo, a curious piece of pottery simultaneously resembling a Viking helmet and a fairytale bug. Earlier, in 1971, he also experimented with Surrealism, his first foray being the illustrated ‘Rhinocéros’ lacquer screen created with installation artist François-Xavier Lalanne. In 1974 he followed it up with the Mantilla sofa for Paradisoterrestre – riffing on the concept of a dust-sheet covering forgotten furniture.
The work and portfolio of Japanese designer Kazuhido Takahama
The architect, who continued to work until his death in 2010, made a permanent impact on Bologna: creating the façade and VIP lounge of the Guglielmo Marconi Airport as well as the bus stop shelters scattered all around the city.
When asked about his favorite creative period of Takahama’s vast portfolio, Kostadinov could not choose. «Somehow I find the consistency very strong across his whole career. The work just jumps through time without [being] distracted by what is currently happening». That quote might very well be applied to Kostadinov’s own creations. Once again, the designer whose work defies categorisation opted to choose everything.
Paradisoterrestre
First inaugurated in 1983 by Dino Gavina, Paradisoterrestre is a historic Italian design brand. Gherardo Tonelli relaunched it in 2017 with a catalog that included re-editions of historical pieces designed by Roberto Matta, Kazuhide Takahama, and Man Ray, as well as new collections created in collaboration with designers and artists such as Pierre Gonalons, Tobia Scarpa, Paola Pivi, and Allen Jones. In 2018 the enterprise expanded: a gallery was opened in Bologna.
Kiko Kostadinov
Kiko Kostadinov is a Bulgarian fashion designer based in London. He currently is the creative director of his eponymous label as well as British heritage brand Mackintosh’s premium line Mackintosh 0001.
