DESIGNING EMOTION WITHIN STRUCTURE

Exclusive interview with Michaela Ferrari, Italian architect and designer, Miki Ferrari

As an architect and founder, how do you define your role today, are you primarily a creative director, a business strategist, or a custodian of craftsmanship?

My main role is that of Creative Director for the brand, ensuring that our products are designed to be ultra-stylish and supremely comfortable. I am lucky to have a team that supports me on all other aspects of our business, including operations, production, marketing and sales. This gives me the freedom to focus on design, and the comfort to know my designs will be beautifully brought to life, and efficiently delivered to the customers.

Your philosophy speaks about “thinking with the heart” and often reference fashion as an inspiration. In a highly technical industry, how do you protect emotion within structure? And How does couture thinking translate into sofa design?

The beauty of what we do, is that the free flow of creativity is complimented by the institutional structure, not constrained by it. Design for the sake of design is ego – instead, we think with the heart, and we create with the hand.  I think of the heart as the source of creativity, and the hand as the source of structure, and the two compliment each other. Like couture fashion, our sofas are proportioned, structured, with elevated materials and intentional detailing. The pieces are structured and supportive, a sculptural statement as refined on the inside as the outside – tailored and precise, much like a hand-crafted gown. 

Architecture trains you to think about space; furniture requires intimacy with the human body. How did you transition between those two scales?

One way to think of it, is to see the human body as an architectural form, and the products we produce are designed to support and embrace the human form, at both a physical and emotional level. The principles of design are similar; in architecture you create spaces for the body to move in and experience, whereas furniture, you design for rest, for intimate connection between the body and object. I consider furniture more personal in the sense that it is about physical points of contact, and how shapes, texture, proportion and subtle detailing can envelope one in such comfort, making them feel entirely at ease.

Middle Eastern interiors often embrace bold statements and layered textures. How does your design language adapt to this cultural context?

Our designs are recognized for their simple beauty and comfort, and the layering comes not from a mix of colors, rather from the variety of textures in our fabrics, so although our fabrics are mostly solid colors, the different textures add a layer of beauty to the product. It enhances one’s tactile experience and ensures that beauty is not only seen, it is felt. The natural lines and simplicity of our furniture aligns with all contemporary styles whether vibrant or muted, and we look forward to sharing our know-how and craftsmanship with a discerning Middle Eastern clientele.

• The Ambrè sofa form feels organic and enveloping, what was the conceptual starting point behind its silhouette?

Ambrè’s natural curved lines and soft fabric invite you to relax into it, the design follows a continuous, organic line that wraps around the sitter. It is a good representation of my design thinking, in creating sofas that embrace the human form. We don’t design sofas to fit a space, we design sofas to fit the human form and to enhance the human experience.

Your collections emphasize goose feathers, premium leathers, selected woods, and composite materials. How do you decide when tradition leads, and when innovation takes over?

We are Italian, so tradition always leads, in everything we do.  The ‘Made in Italy’ stamp is important to me in my craft, and even when we are being innovative, the starting point is always our tradition of craftsmanship and our reverence for design. Innovation then becomes the way we can leverage these traditions to create products that are always authentic, always human-centric and always beautiful. With great attention to detail, we push forward with modernism but always remain true to the legacy of Italian design elegance, quality and functional aesthetics.

The launch in the UAE signals a new international chapter. What does this expansion represent personally for you?

We are very proud of what we represent, and the worldwide respect for ‘Made in Italy’ as a global mark of quality and authenticity; for us to be ambassadors and share the philosophy behind this concept means a great deal to us. We are proud to join a long list of brands that have redefined the way the world views creativity and luxury in design, and have stood to develop global standards for quality and craftsmanship.