English Living
Interiors
Milan Design Week
MALABARES - Balancing Acts
Alexander Lamont, the luxury design studio, is proud to unveil its much-anticipated new furniture and lighting collection at the prestigious Milan Design Week in 2023.
Balancing acts
The stunning new collection, named MALABARES, has been designed by acclaimed Colombian designer Alberto Velez and will be a must-see in Brera, The collection launches in April at Fuorisalone Milan and is showing from 18-23 April at Tappeti Contemporanei, via S. Carpoforo 1.
MALABARES is a series of design studies exploring flow, asymmetry, surface and substance through Alexander Lamont’s exquisite, handcrafted materiality.
MALABARES collection focuses on using natural materials and exquisite craftsmanship to create outstanding furniture and lighting pieces. This unique collection combines traditional techniques with contemporary design to produce pieces of exceptional beauty and expression. Inspired by ideas of balance and flow, the collection evokes a sense of warmth and nostalgia, while maintaining a modern sensibility.
“We are very excited to present this exceptional collection of furniture and lighting,” says Alexander Lamont, the founder and creative director of the studio. “Alberto has combined seminal ideas with a contemporary design sensibility to create a range of pieces that are both elegant and timeless.”
“Each piece in this collection has been meticulously crafted by hand, using Alex’s unique palette of natural materials,” adds Alberto Velez. “We wanted to create a collection that would be functional, beautiful and completely contemporary, reflecting the cultural shift towards a more casual relaxed lifestyle. .”
Alexander Lamont looks forward to sharing this exceptional collection with the design community and admirers of fine craftsmanship worldwide.
In Alberto’s native Spanish, MALABARES refers to a series of balancing acts – a flow of movements executed with a combination of skill and grace. The works were conceived during a challenging time when sudden change was imposed on all of us. They reflect the expression of human creativity in finding graceful solutions to adjust direction and accept new lifestyle realities and priorities.
Asymmetry becomes a most important element of the series, an instigator of movement that demands balance. Substantial volumes express transitions both sudden and fluid where Alexander Lamont’s material surfaces evoke nature and the legacies of craft.
A Modern Seduction of Hand and Eye
Alexander Lamont’s signature straw marquetry and shagreen in light or dark tones envelop each piece, meeting with organic cast brass accents that provide functional surfaces and architectural detail.
The materials in low contrast, quiet palettes maintain a tranquil but lavish presence that enhances and controls each piece’s flow and form. Gentle lines, concave curves, and nuanced spaces where textured surfaces meet, playfully invite our gaze and touch.
Malabares is an important collection for 2023, a journey into form, substance, asymmetry and flow, an expression of enlightened modern materiality.
MALABARES will be available for purchase through Alexander Lamont’s worldwide distribution network.
About Alexander Lamont
Alexander Lamont’s designs are works of vitality, soul, and character. The British designer’s exquisite, hand-crafted pieces are made with noble materials and bring with them a sense of journey and discovery while communicating playfulness, texture, and refined quality. The creations of Alexander Lamont’s studio and workshops are made to fall in love with, be treasured and touched, and bring to their owners a joyful communion with the great traditions of workshop excellence and a unique design sensibility.
Exploring artistic collaborations with renowned designers around the world Alexander Lamont regularly introduces commissioned pieces as part of the brand’s collections. Alexander began working with Colombian designer Alberto Velez in 2020 launching the Trove group of accessories in Fall 2022 in collaboration with Alberto’s wife, photographer Andreina Lauria. Friends for many years the two designers worked on a series of furniture and lighting exploring contemporary expressions of Alexander Lamont’s palette of materials. The MALABARES collection due to be introduced in 2023 is the extraordinary result of this vibrant and dynamic creative friendship.
About Alberto Velez
In his work, Alberto Velez endeavours to instill a distinct personality into each piece, a proud, meaningful presence and enduring relevance. During a prolific career in luxury furnishings for the interiors trade, he has been privileged to work with some of the finest ateliers and craftspeople, Alexander Lamont among them, building personal bonds around the shared pursuit of excellence in the execution of the design.
Formally trained as an industrial designer in his native Bogota, he later moved to New York and joined Studio Sofield, where he led its custom and licensed design practice for a global clientele over a long tenure. Alberto then joined Holly Hunt in Chicago to direct her design studio creating an extensive body of work across multiple collections for over a decade.
Besides this delightful and exciting collaboration with Alexander Lamont, Alberto is co-founder and partner of Refractory studio in Chicago.
