German company Dedon presents the indoor / outdoor sofas collection, Ray, designed by Philippe Starck. “Imagine a garden or terrace as a room in which the ceiling has been replaced by sky, the walls by trees and the carpet by grass. All that's left are a few pieces of furniture, including an iconic, timeless, incredibly comfortable couch“. Ph.S
Inspired by the poetry of Surrealism, so rich with paradox and possibility, Philippe Starck has dreamed up Ray, a modular system for DEDON that takes lounging to the next level. “I have used Surrealist poetry,” says Starck, “to express the disappearance of boundaries between inside and out.”
The result is a collection of remarkable versatility, combining all the comfort and sophistication of the world's finest indoor systems, all the outdoor knowhow and barefoot luxury of DEDON, and all the intelligence and creativity one would expect from the most celebrated designer of our age.
“The centerpiece of the garden,” says Starck, Ray has been designed to bring pleasure “not only to those sitting on it but to those surrounding it.” This is as evident in the collection's innovative textile weaving as in the asymmetrical beauty of its forms.
Criss-crossing horizontal ribbons of pale ecru fabric with vertical tubes of warm gray fabric, DEDON's master weavers have covered ray's powder-coated frame in an elegant new woven pattern, looser and more open than usual for DEDON, that brings out all the rich, tonal variations in the fabric itself.
With this unprecedented combination of textures and materials — smooth powder-coating, a luxurious fabric weave and, for the cushion covers, three of the richest outdoor textiles ever created — ray might seem more at home inside than out. Then again, Starck designed it to dissolve just such boundaries.
Consider the cushions. Developed in Italy by the world's leading specialists for indoor seating, they feature a special combination of foams, firm and supportive in the lumbar region, gradually softening higher up. Another first for outdoor furniture, they provide a level comfort rarely attained indoors.
In the end, ray may be best suited for somewhere in between outdoors and in — on a covered terrace, for example, or under an awning. Though its materials have been treated for weatherability, ray itself was never intended for enduring harsh conditions. It was intended for lounging, pure and simple.
DEDON has a reputation for building loungers of unrivaled comfort, but ray raises lying around to an art form. With armrests that blur into side tables, perfect for keeping your stuff nearby, and a modular system so flexible it can be tailored to any setting, there's less reason than ever to get up.
Source: Starck
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