TABLE TALK: It’s fair to say designers Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos take a holistic view of design. The Italian company that makes their bed linen, Once Milano, now makes the napkins and tablecloths for their burgeoning homeware line, while Swarovski, a longtime Peter Pilotto collaborator, has created bejeweled candelabras, and 1882 Ltd., the ceramics brand from the north of England has created the dishes.
On Wednesday night, the two designers debuted the latest additions to their evolving lifestyle collection with homeware products that will be sold exclusively on Matchesfashion.com. Matches cleared out the ground floor space of its Carlos Place town house in London and set an extra-long table for the night’s host Amy Astley, editor in chief of Architectural Digest, and guests including Arizona Muse, Allegra Hicks, Martina Mondadori and Michelle and Rachel Yeoh.
Related Galleries
The table was draped in faded, color-blocked linen cloths, plates with swirling patterns and rustic water jugs. Napkins were plain or edged with little fringes, while cutlery was drawn from Sohdu Wasabi. The whole evening had been dreamed up by the designers, including the lush, colored blooms by Fjura that tumbled from fishbowl style vases and the food, from their favorite London restaurant, Black Axe Mangal.
“I don’t even know kind of food it is: It’s a little Turkish, a little Italian, mixed with Sichuan and English — and to us that’s London,” said de Vos of the small restaurant that’s not far from the designers’ northeast London studio.
De Vos said the move into home was a smooth one for Peter Pilotto, a label known for its colorful clothing, inspirations from around the world, and fine, hand-done detailing. “We have a fascination with textiles, fabrics and patterns, and anything we do has to be natural,” he said.
Matchesfashion.com debuted a home category last summer and, seeing traction from its global network of consumers, has been expand its home offer, and dabbling in art. Cabana magazine has just debuted a table top collection in partnership with Matches, while the retailer also stocks a line of linens by Emilia Wickstead’s mother, Angela; ceramic vases in the shapes of women’s body parts by jeweler Anissa Kermiche, and rainbow-hued, quirky table mats and delicate porcelain by popular interior designer Matilda Goad.
Later this month, it will unveil a collaboration with Il Pellicano group of hotels that will see events take place in London and Italy, with customers cruising the Italian coastline on a Thirties yacht that’s set to be transformed into a pop-up resortwear shop.