Mise en Place: Pictorial Inspiration

The Italic Lace tablemats designed by Galante & Lacman reinvent 15th century Sienese lace. The White Snow Kingyo plates are created by Antonia Astori with decoration by Vittorio Locatelli, who is also responsible for the Rocks line of jugs and bottles. The glasses are the work of Borek Sipek

Pictorial Inspiration

Driade plates are visual treats. Like little works of trompe-l’oeil, they create the illusion of being in an aquarium

by Marta Bernasconi

reating the tabletop as a blank canvas on which everything can be painted is an intriguing idea, especially when art and taste coincide. It’s a challenge that Driade has been eager to take on by presenting a table setting that reflects the philosophy the design brand has built on since its launch in the late 1960s – to seek beauty in living spaces through a joyous, eclectic, elegant creativity. For Driade, this type of inspired flair starts with its Italic Lace tablemats, which evoke the 15th century crochet lace of Siena. Driade has taken these and interpreted them in a brand new language, making use of photo-etch techniques. The colours chosen for the collection, which also includes coasters, are brass, black, red and the classic white. The plates and dishes of the White Snow Kingyo line, however, depict an aquarium where fish seem to swim in constant movement. The background colours range from white to black and ocean blue, full tones that highlight the dynamism of the painted subjects. The Rocks service features a research into traditional shapes and their reinterpretation, with jugs and bottles displaying extreme details like the sharply pointed spouts or triple-belly shape. Driade round off its table setting with its glassware collection, comprising pieces notable for their unusual stems that create a rhythmic alternation of empty and full forms, a joyful coda to a collection to be enjoyed “andante con brio”. www.driade.com