NAGOMI
Garde’s New Collection at Milan Design Week 2008

Garde chooses again the Fuori Salone in Zona Tortona to present its new furniture collection “Nagomi”.

For its third consecutive year of participation, Garde inaugurates on the international scene an exclusive line of furniture that represents an innovative vision of the relationship between Man and Nature and the socio-psychological scenario that is created by this connection.

Nagomi
Memories of a past where Man found time to let himself be absorbed by the delicate colors of a sunrise, by the pearl-like iridescent rays of the early morning sun, by the smell of the tall hinoki* trees, or by the sparkling ring of the furin** that sway in the summer breeze. Veiled memories of a warm nostalgia that bring the mind back to a dimension where Man, cradled in the arms of Mother Nature, found peace and serenity. This is, or better...WAS, “Nagomi”.

21st century: daily life runs on high speed tracks. The pace of modern lifestyle thrusts and forces us to run continuously, straining us to constantly minimize dead time. Never has the old cliche “time is money” ever been such a clear and coherent mirror of reality. This causes Modern Man to take advantage of the few moments of free time to search for a renewed contact with Nature, to escape the intensity of daily life and rediscover a dimension of peace and interior balance.

This is the scenario where Garde launches its new collection “NAGOMI”: a proposal of reinterpretation of the traditional contact with Nature in a new refreshing “cool-modern” style. Through its exclusive selection of interior furnishings, Garde wants to emphasize the necessity of reuniting with Nature in completely new ways. Garde does not imagine Man returning to Nature overwhelmed and defeated by the frenzy of every day life. Garde’s vision is in fact of a strong, proud Man who doesn’t “go towards” Nature but instead recalls it back to himself. A Man not prepared to admit his dependence on time and on natural forces. A Man who creates himself, and who adapts his surroundings to himself by employing Nature into spaces he defines.

The Nagomi Collection therefore embodies elements of Nature into a design with modern lines and essential shapes. Elements in Nature such as Water, whose force is unleased erratically, are captured in shapes with a soft and delicate design. Others are enclosed in containers that guide their movements. Nature therefore becomes “domesticated” but it nevertheless represents Mother Nature, and by reconnecting with Her, Man feels comforted. (For example, the EGU Chair’s rounded shape welcomes with an embrace, and resembles the shape of an egg, allegorically recalling the origin of life, a mother’s womb in which Man was protected and safe.) Synthetic, innovative and modern materials are used to reproduce naturalistic forms and also become a metaphor for this process of subjection that Man exerts on the surrounding environment: Nature, although respected in its shapes, is violated in its substance; Nature is sewn onto Man and therefore it traces his figure. When natural materials are used, the shape becomes stylised and modern in order to maintain balance and to allow Man to use natural elements within controllable limits. Garde proposes a “cerebral nature”, an amalgamate where Nature’s warm passion and the “cool-modern” style of our century can coexist in perfect balance.


* HINOKI: Japanese cypress trees with an aromatic wood. The scented wood is also used to make hot springs’ basins.
** FURIN: Typical Japanese wind chimes made in glass, ceramic or metal. When exposed to wind, they emit an acute ring.

Nagomi Collection & Designers

Appeso, Wataru Ishikawa
Arinko Table, Haruhiko Taniguchi
Balance Chair, Kyoko Takano
Bamboo Wall, Kei Tanaka
Egu Chair, Yuichi Konno
Panel Chair, Junichi Takeshita
Tamago, Hiroaki Tanaka
Vaso System, Arata Ito
Water Table, Toru Yokomatsu

Garde
Garde is a leading branding and interior design firm, specializing in a wide range of services from marketing and consulting to creative design, with a strong expertise in the retail sector. Established in Tokyo in April 1985, Garde Co., Ltd now has offices in the main economic and international design hubs: Tokyo, Osaka, Los Angeles, New York, Milan. Garde’s “Brand Building” services assist brands to position themselves on the global market with maximum efficiency. Garde creates desire...by creating highly expressive showcases for its Clients worldwide.

By identifying the strong points of the brand, and understanding its retail and merchandising strategies, Garde creates a highly personalized design to represent the brand and to position it successfully on the international market. Garde’s global network extends from Asia to Europe to the USA and allows for real time communication and execution as well as keeping up-to-date on design trends around the globe. For this reason, Garde is able to offer superior services with extreme flexibility for diversified projects (fashion brands, large scale developments, food & entertainment venues, corporate and commercial interiors, etc...) Garde’s clientele include the world’s finest brands… Here are just a few of the clients we service: Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Ermanno Scervino, Ferragamo, Jimmy Choo, Montblanc, Tiffany, Versace, Yves Saint Laurent.


History

1985 Established GARDE 21
1990 Opened Osaka Office
1995 Opened Garde Design Center
1997 Opened Design Office in New York
Opened Design Office in Milan
1998 Awarded the VM+SD Competition for International Store Interior Design
1999 Established Garde USA
2001 Established Garde Italy
2006 Opened Los Angeles Office