«We are a design company, not a styling company», a talk with Marcel Wanders and the EveryHuman’s Algorithmic Perfumery, a project for Moooi
Lampoon introduces A Life Extraordinary by Moooi – talking with Marcel Wanders
On the occasion of Fuorisalone, Moooi returned to Milan with a large exhibition inside the premises of the Salone dei Tessuti. A Life Extraordinary was the title chosen by the company: an immersive experience which investigated the many ways in which technology intertwines with people’s daily lives. For some years now, the Dutch design company has embraced the digital world and its infinite potential to enrich and enhance its already wide range of products. An ambitious goal pursued with constancy and tenacity through prominent collaborations with designers, brands and engineers.
«I think that the common thread which has guided Moooi’s business over the past few years is quite clear. Lately everyone has noticed that the digital world is so interesting and that so much is happening there, that people might start thinking that there is nothing happening here, in the physical world. We decided to embrace the digital world to provide the material world with more power and defeat laziness. You know, designers have become a bit lazy, we have so many senses and we do so little to satisfy them», Marcel Wanders – Moooi’s co-founder and creative director – explains.
Marcel Wanders: Inspiring human condition through technology and design
In an attempt to inspire the human condition through design, Moooi juxtaposes technology and materiality without ever overlapping them. Digital tools have already amply demonstrated their potential by simplifying and speeding up both the design phase and the production processes. According to Wanders, laziness consists in limiting yourself to doing simple things when technology offers so many opportunities and tools to continue to broaden the boundaries of design and project research.
But what really is an extraordinary life? According to the Dutch designer there is no single definition, but a plurality of personal views and ideas. «Everyone has their own definition. At Moooi we want to find a way to make our consumers’ lives passionate lives by creating things which make people wonder, excite, think and have conversations. This is what we are trying to do: help people to express who they really are».
Moooi x EveryHuman
Among the many successful collaborations which have characterized A Life Extraordinary – such as Pallana Light by IDEO, Knitty Lounge Chair by Nika Zupanc and three new carpet collections by 3D Artist and designer Andrés Reisinger, multi-disciplinary artist Seb Janiak and the experimental design studio Rive Roshan – the boldest is certainly the one with EveryHuman, the creator of the world’s first public AI scent design platform: Algorithmic Perfumery. Throughout the whole Milan Design Week, a large machine placed in the center of the room allowed visitors to create a customized room fragrance on-site through AI.
The sensory experience, accessible at moooi.everyhuman.com, begins with a mood-and feeling-based questionnaire. By answering a series of questions aimed at stimulating emotions and imagination, the user becomes the creator of his own personal fragrance formula, developed in a few minutes by EveryHuman’s innovative software. The sensory-machine does the rest, producing a one-of-a-kind room fragrance.
Even in the room fragrances sector, Moooi wanted to amaze its community by proposing an unconventional product where technology and the human sphere meet and merge: «We wanted to become a player in the scents sector, but we did not want to put a couple of sticks into a bottle of perfumed water and say we were leading the game. We are a design company, not a styling company, so we never tell designers what to do, but we put our resources at their disposal to create amazing objects. Moooi is crazy, eclectic, we make things which are on their own, which can live in people’s houses and adapt to their lives».
Marcel Wanders and Moooi to launch digital art on Nifty Gateway
Moooi’s exploration of the digital world continues with a collection of NFTs to be released later this year on Nifty Gateway, an online auction platform for digital art and collectibles. The genesis project is Virtual Interiors, a series of digital works created by Wanders in 2013 which today – thanks to recent technological developments – can finally see the light.
«Moooi is a place of culture, innovation, surprise and design. We make furniture, lighting, wallpapers and we present them to the public, we now make NFTs and of course we want to present them too. We are happy we are doing it now! We wanted to do it before, but it took time to develop our idea and to have the concept of NFTs finally mature. In the past digital artworks were nothing more than simple digital copiable files, it is fantastic that now we can prove the authenticity of these files», Wanders claims.
«There are a lot of amazing designers and artists who would like to present their NFT works within our context. In fact we could easily make a collection, but we went further developing an interesting and total new way to present our NFTs by which you basically buy a subscription on all NFTs in once. We did not want to release many all in once, but just a few and then continue developing more. We want to create more connections and an intimate position for Moooi lovers and speak to our community», he adds.
Introducing the Kisss Chair by Marcel Wanders
A Life Extraordinary was also the occasion to unveil the Dutch designer’s latest product to the public. A red armchair in the shape of lips with a soft and sensual silhouette which invites viewers to sit down and relax, providing the domestic environment with a nice and playful touch. The Kisss Chair – a tribute to Salvador Dali’s iconic Mae West Lips Sofa – was born from Wanders’ desire to create something fun by drawing on the lip motif, used several times throughout the history of design.
The preview installation of the Kisss Chair was part of a space called the Kissing Booth, where a series of AI-fueled videos, created in collaboration with Magic Factory, were a testament to the endless possibilities of creativity and technology.
«I had also created a presentation video which was originally supposed to be released as an NFT, in which I explain that there are many different types of kisses in the world. This was my way of saying that with this chair I paid homage to Dali’s famous sofa, but in a certain sense I also distanced myself from it», explains Wanders. And what about the third ‘S’? «Moooi has three ‘O’s, I just thought that adding an ‘S’ at the end of the word could make sense».
Moooi
For over twenty years, Moooi has inspired and seduced the world with sparkling and innovative designs. The venture founded in 2001 is currently led by Marcel Wanders and Robin Bevers. Moooi is named after the Dutch word for beautiful – Moooi. The third ‘O’ in the brand name stands for an extra value in terms of beauty and uniqueness.
