The set designs proposed by Brit Tom Dixon during Milan Design Week are always stunning.

In 2010, he set up a factory in Zona Tortona to show the steps and the process of production of his plays.

In 2012, he did a Luminosity exhibition at the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology in Milan (MOST)

In 2013, again exhibited in the Museum of Science among skeletons of dinosaurs and theories of Leonardo da Vinci.

In 2014, Tom decided to set up in Main Fairgrounds for the first time

Exhibiting at the Salone Fairgrounds is great for the business, in terms of contacts, but is very limited in terms of scenery.  I’m always in search of interesting places and new adventures to share with my partners, friends and customers.

” I try as much as possible, do different from the others. Many brands are presenting their work in amazing palaces, but this abandoned cinema was a good alternative because it can better control the space and by being darker, is great for display fixtures. In addition, the Italian palaces are beautiful and end up calling more attention than their own releases “

So now in 2015, Tom has launched his latest collections in a unique interactive entertainment show at ” The Cinema “-  in the abandoned theatre of the Casa dell’Opera Nazionale Balillain the heart of Milan city.

Tom transformed the derelict theatre with a headline presentation, calling on the building’s historic roots of a 1970s cinema to highlight his latest designs through a series of installations.

” The Cinema ” – The Project build

Constantly on the hunt for more interesting spaces to show and more exciting adventures to share with his partners, customers and friends, Tom Dixon came across this abandoned Cinema in central Milan, mysteriously never before used during the Salone.

With its monumental ceilings and entertainment history, it becomes the perfect setting to show, animate and sell our new collections.

It’s all raw edges and dereliction at Casa dell’Opera Nazionale Balilla – a former school building and theatre built in the 1930s in the design-facing San Babila area.

For Salone, its 10,000 sq ft has been taken over by Designjunction, a British outfit that brings 30 international exhibitors and the artsy Case café together in the space.

At its heart lies the disused movie theatre, in which British designer Tom Dixon created his very own ” Cinema ”

Tom’s Build – External

Tom’s Build – internal

NB  photos below courtesy of Peer Lindgren

Let the SHOW begin !!

The Tom Dixon 2015 collection is inspired by a never-ending research into shape, texture and finishes, an obsession with manufacturing techniques and a deep vein of narratives that come from a uniquely eccentric British standpoint.

The program for the “Casa dell’Opera Nazionale Balilla includes a light show, a VIP lounge and of course a huge store where you can get shopping.

Tom says:  ” The resourceful design entrepreneur in the modern age is now committed not just to the creation of an artefact, but also to the communication, contextualisation and commercialisation of their ideas – we wanted to build a temporary and contemporary selling space where the lines between entertainment and commerce dissolve, and the latest newness is no longer just a prototype on a pedestal but innovation available instantly – to buy now or to have delivered anywhere. ”

Dixon himself says that “a design corporation today cannot be content to focus only on designing objects, but must also concentrate on communicating, contextualizing and commercializing its ideas. This is why we have rented an abandoned theater in Milan in order to create a temporary presentation space there that combines entertainment and commerce.”

Meaning the new products can be presented not only as prototypes on plinths, but as innovations you can buy direct, take with you, or simply have delivered to wherever you want.

Tom Talks @ The Cinema

Sony V.I.P Lounge

Sony Projections

Sony Professional Europe have developed a new generation of laser projectors for domestic and professional use and together we should be able to demonstrate in our Cinema the amazing progress of projection technologies.

What might be overlooked as a Tom Dixon vignette is actually a Sony installation for their newest home projector, targeted at consumers who enjoy the home theater experience but could do without all of the gadgets.

Designed by Yusuke Tsujita, the Life Space UX is an ultra short throw projector hidden into what looks like a standard entertainment console. The built-in projector can cast a 4K Ultra HD image up to 147-inches when situated only inches from the projecting wall.

Here’s one of the videos that Tom Dixon created to highlight this technology and showcase our new MELT Pendant at The Cinema

Tom Dixon remains the man who stirs things up in the industry, the flamboyant entrepreneur who stages his design objects in a quite unprecedented way

This year Tom created an entertainment show highlighting his latest designs – including Melt, Lens and Wingback through a series of extraordinary installations.

New products launched at The Cinema

MELT lights

Melt is a series of distorted spherical pendants, half-metallised to create an extraordinary optic effect and cast an ethereal luminosity on their surroundings.

Melt creates a mesmerizing melting hot blown glass effect which could understandably be mistaken for hand-blown glass.

The globes are constructed with a lightweight polycarbonate shell and a thin layer of chrome, copper or gold metal applied on the interior using a vacuum metalization process.

The glass refract the drawings of the lamp onto surrounding surfaces, creating an effect Dixon describes as “disco glamour”.

The pendant lights are translucent when on and have a mirror finish when off.

Designed in collaboration with Swedish studio Front.

This partnership with Front emerged in a very natural said Tom ….. ” I was in Stockholm and, during a visit to a factory, I got interested by a mold used in street lighting in the city. Met Sofia (Lagerkvist) and Anna (Lindgren) a few days later and they told me they were thinking of making lampshades. So we decided to join forces. It was a great experience. I don’t have new partnerships planned, but also don’t discount this possibility ”

ETCH lights

ETCH: Inspired by the logic of pure mathematics and made up of digitally etched metal sheets,

Etch is now available in 50cm.

ETCH WEB: A space filling shade made from photo-etched sheets of pure brass, designed to cast atmospheric angular shadows when lit.

An irregular pentagon shape is repeated 60 times across the body to create a total sphere.

SPUN Lights

SPUN: Generously proportioned pendants and wall lights that hint at a Space Age, Deco or Pop Art aesthetic.”

Cog lights

COG: A series of precision machined pendants that take their inspiration from the British industrial revolution

Cog video produced for Tom by Sony

LENS lights

LENS: The latest output in our obsession with geometry and luminosity, a spherical pendant made of 60 triangular lenses.

LENS is a mesmerizing luminous globe inspired by the Fresnel lens used in lighthouses and reminiscent of geological rare crystal.

The prismatic triangular lenses explode and project the source light in all directions.

Engineered to stand on its own or hang in multiples and at different heights to add drama.

Brings an instant disco glamour into the cocktail bar, dining hall or living room.

PLANE lights

PLANE: A new wall light addition to the Plane collection, characterised by its simplicity and bold geometry.

WINGBACK chairs

WINGBACK: A classic chair remastered and redefined, now available with statement copper legs.

Inspired by two seating archetypes: the 17th century wingback and its smaller sibling the 18th century balloon back, these refined hybrids have been updated and redefined for the grandest banquets or as chairs for the fireplaces of members clubs or your living room.

Available in solid oak or copper legs and in a wide range of Kvadrat fabrics and colours.

Collection includes a chair, dining chair, ottoman and sofa

Tom Dixon Accessories

NB All Tom Dixon accessories shown here are available to buy at dedeceplus here

“Ezit through the gift shop” ….. Banksy

Jaguar XE –  Word Cloud

Lluxury British car brand, Jaguar showcased their latest sports saloon XE alongside a vast, ground-breaking aluminium sculpture; Word Cloud.

Word Cloud has been created by Jaguar design in collaboration with multiple design disciplines and is an aluminum structure that duplicates the contour of the new Jaguar XE through 95 words in seven different languages.

Jaguar designers cooperated with a number of creatives skilled in computational design, graphic arts, scenographic processing and metalworking, obtaining an original and unique sculpture.

The Word Cloud based on the new XE actually fits perfectly into the exhibition thanks to a play of light and shadow that makes it appear incredibly similar conceptually to Tom Dixon Etch Web sculptural lamps designed by Tom.