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Decorative mirrors for all tastes and needs

Vintage, classical or modern, decorative mirrors tell of our look and feel of the moment

Di Laura Arrighi, Murielle Bortolotto e Tamara Bianchini
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As we all know, mirrors are golden reigns of vanity, and nowadays are back to hit the headlines as fashionable must-haves when it comes to contemporary interiors, vintage taste and ornamental role. Being pretty much longed-for items, design mirrors have offered soil to wild experimentations both shape and material-wise, with the overall aim of revamping the greatest of all classics: ornamental mirrors. On the occasion of the Milano Design Week 2017, plenty of original creations by a bunch of well established designers has been unveiled. So here follows our selection of 5 trendy mirrors whose expressive force, natural witty allure, artisanal feel, echoes to the past and storytelling skills have literally blew our mind.

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Redor, the modern wall mirror designed by studio Zanellato/Bortotto for the prestigious Nilufar Gallery, surely is the king of the room. Eternally charmed by design’s tight link with space and time – especially, when traditional venetian mirrors are involved –, the creative duo is used to inject equal aesthetic sensitivity in both limited edition and mass-produced series. On behalf of Milan’s most historical landmark for design d’auteur – aka the Nilufar Gallery – the Italian firm did create a mirror collection of high design content aimed to give a contemporary take on traditional mirrors, while preserving their original features of sophistication and uniqueness. Mirror is the major element, silvered according to the traditional process, declinable in a wide array of shades, and applied on several surfaces. The frame is bordered by minutely defined glass leaves, here modelled as smooth petals, and is enriched by curved decorations of contemporary geometric taste. Lastly, all glass leaves and decorations are applied one by one by skilled craftsmen, in a range of different nuances and gradients.

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Two more decorative mirrors – both displayed at the FuoriSalone – are synonym with a drastic restyling of tradition. Strong of its retro feel, such pair of vintage mirrors results from the artistic sensitivity and attitude of young designer Vito Nesta, one of Milano Design Week’s 2017 actual leading characters involved in a number of collaborations with relevant brands specialising in ceramics, wallpaper, fabrics and glass. Nesta’s passion for Italy’s artisanal excellences made him invest on Effetto Vetro, the company co-founded by craftsmen Maurizio Foddis and Andrea Baisi which brings on extensive researches on materials to be gradually embedded into their manufacturing archive. Together with them and Secondome Design Gallery’s founder, Claudia Pignatale, the Risvolti collection has seen the light as a blend of craftsmanship, design and pure art. By offering an unusual mix of high-tech material as Supermirror steel and opaline glass gone out of production since the ‘50s, the whole series is built on the vivid contrasts between steel’s modernity and vintage-inspired coloured mosaic tassels – the latter being artfully placed to sketch two different patterns, Risvolti A and Risvolti B.

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Monica Armani is the author of a modern mirror collection of essential and feminine design for B&B Italia, the legendary company whose industrial vocation is not to be questioned. By drawing inspiration from the 1950’s and 1960’s style icons, Armani looked at timeless fashionistas of the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy. Madison, the resulting oval round and rectangular mirror series in oversize dimensions evokes an extraordinary time and location, that of a New York penthouse, and of the sinuous and smoothened silhouette of Jackie’s most favourite sunglasses. To be attached vertically or horizontally to the walls, these mirrors create a play of reflections and light; made in high density polyurethane and nickel, the frame comes either bronze-painted with grey mirror or rosy bronze-painted with bronze mirror.

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According to Italian designer Elisa Giovannoni, decorative mirrors are like windows on the world, with a tiny bird peeking out quietly at the horizon: Portrait with Birdie, a mirror selection with decor and brass frame features a brass profile rounded at the bottom, just like a windowsill to lean on, with a little bird nestled on it. Appointed by Ghidini 1961, a specialist in die casting brass, aluminium and zamak, the Italian designer drew her main inspiration from the classic Renaissance monofora, meaning a single-lancet window. Such poetic quotations lead to the practice of the portrait and charming games of reflection, while enhancing the presence of that delicate, friendly decor – the birdie, indeed –, which has already inspired design must-haves like the Eames House Bird.

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Lastly, please meet Ciclope, a timeless, sophisticated round mirror created by Scandinavian firm Claesson Koivisto Rune for Artflex. Echoing Ciclope, the one-eyed mythical giant creature featured in Homer’s Odyssey, this design mirror boasts a unique focal points and a peculiar convex shape. Indeed, Claesson Koivisto Rune wanted to reintroduce those convex mirrors made in Europe as far back as the 14th century and figured in famous paintings of the era, and update their design by enlarging the usually historically quite small mirrors into a larger object. As a result, the Ciclope mirror (termoplastico and frame built in MDF) is good for expanding a room visually, but also to bring reflected light into various spaces.

nilufar.com
secondome.biz
bebitalia.com
arflex.it
ghidini1961.com

Opening Photo: 5 DECORATIVE MIRRORS BOASTING BOLDLY DIFFERENT MOODS: OUR BEST PICKS FOR 2018

Article by Laura Arrighi. Selection by Tamara Bianchini and Murielle Bortolotto

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