Liquid, the recently launched collaboration with Tom Dixon, receives Best Fluid Form accolade
Soft, flowing forms, generous shapes, and a radical departure from the current trend for sharp-edged geometric pieces have won prestigious design community recognition for VitrA and leading British designer Tom Dixon.
The annual Wallpaper* Magazine design awards select the best and most innovative new products, and the Best Fluid Forms award was presented to the new Liquid bathroom collection. Liquid was launched at the end of 2021 and is on display at VitrA’s new flagship showroom in Clerkenwell, London.
Contemporary without being of the moment, Liquid is a complete bathroom collection that includes basins, taps, showers, tiles, accessories, and furniture.
Inspired by the way water flows, Liquid has soft, curved edges. Pieces can be used together, or single items can be selected as a focal point.
Recognising the current consumer interest with slim, reduced designs, VitrA and Tom Dixon have created the opposite, incorporating fatter, softer lines inspired by elements of pop art.
While the overall design is reduced, the functionality is intuitive, so users instinctively understand how to operate products such as taps and showers. The curved shapes reduce the number of hidden spaces, so cleaning is quick and easy – vital in a post-pandemic world.
VitrA’s world-renowned manufacturing expertise enabled the design to come to life. “Ceramic can change shape and size when it is fired – especially with large, chunky pieces, “explains VitrA’s marketing manager for the UK and Europe, Margaret Talbot. “Our expertise and top-level production facilities allowed us to bring Tom Dixon’s unique concept to life.”
VitrA is part of the Eczacıbaşı Group, one of Turkey’s most prominent industrial groups. Founded in 1958, VitrA is a leading bathroom manufacturer, which has expanded into international markets in recent years. Over 70 per cent of VitrA’s total output is now being sold outside of Turkey. From 13 production facilities in Turkey, Germany, France, and Russia, VitrA produces a full range of bathroom products, including over 5.6 million pieces of sanitaryware a year and complementary bathroom furniture, brassware, and accessories ranges distributed to over 75 countries on five continents. VitrA UK, based in Oxfordshire, has been supplying the UK bathroom market for over 25 years and is an active member of the Bathroom Manufacturers Association (BMA) and the British Institute of Kitchen, Bedroom & Bathroom Installation (BiKBBI). VitrA has opened a flagship showroom in Clerkenwell, London – VitrA London, a creative hub for architects, designers, and thinkers with dedicated areas for product specification, events, and workshops.
Established in 2002, Tom Dixon is a British luxury design brand which is represented in 90 countries. Specialising in furniture, lighting and accessories, Tom Dixon has hubs in London, Milan, Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo, Hangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai. With an aesthetic that is intrinsically inspired by the brand’s British roots, the products are internationally recognised and appreciated for their pioneering use of materials and techniques.
Founder and eponymous Creative Director Tom Dixon is a restless innovator who rose to prominence in the 1980s as a maverick, untrained designer with a line in welded salvage furniture. While working with the Italian giant Cappellini he designed the widely acclaimed ‘S’ chair. In the late 90s Tom became Creative Director at Habitat and rejuvenated the brand while maintaining Terence Conran’s vision of enriching everyday life through simple, modern design. In 2001, Tom was awarded an OBE by Her Majesty the Queen for his services to British design. In 2014 he was awarded ‘Designer of The Year’ at Maison & Objet, Paris. In 2019, he received a silver medal for Best Garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and in the same year, was awarded the prestigious London Design Medal at the British Land Celebration of Design Awards. Tom is one of the industry’s most feted British designers and is internationally heralded as a significantly original talent.
Launched in 2007, Design Research Studio, the design and innovations agency at the heart of Tom Dixon, continue to create extraordinary spaces globally. Recent projects have included reimagining the modern cruise experience for Virgin Voyages on their first ship, reinventing the layout and interior of The Pullman Hotel in Bercy, the iconic Drugstore Brasserie on Les Champs-Elysees, Paris and designing the Manzoni in Milan, Tom Dixon’s first European hub which acts as a restaurant, shop and office all in one. In 2018, the brand relocated its headquarters – Coal Office – to London’s King’s Cross, which was a significant step for the business. Coal Office operates as an office, shop, workshop and restaurant all under one roof and is located in the affluent shopping destination, Coal Drops Yard.
Best-selling products such as Beat, Melt, S-Chair and Wingback are instantly recognisable and have been acquired by the world’s most famous museums including the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; MOMA, New York; and the Centre Pompidou, Paris. Latest additions to the brand’s range, such as the Fat chair, Spring lights and Swirl accessories are quickly gaining momentum and reiterate Tom’s status and significance in the design world.
