Benjamin Hubert of design agency LAYER likes to consider how fashion trends and the latest ideas in technology can be combined to realize his creations. For his furniture collection, TAPE, Hubert was inspired by design practices for garments in the sporting industry—specifically the use of tape to construct snowboard, ski and wet-weather gear.
Hubert recognized that the technique had a sustainable advantage. He could use tape to bond together smaller pieces of fabric that would normally be discarded as waste in the upholstery process.
Consisting of a modular sofa and a table, the sleek, stylish TAPE collection was created by Hubert’s London-based experience design agency for the Italian luxury furniture brand Moroso. It was introduced at the Fiera during Salone del Mobile in Milan in April 2018.
LAYER worked with a technical garment manufacturer to develop the tape technology. Using advanced heat-sealing machinery, the polyurethane tape binds the fabric together. Danish textile brand Kvadrat supplied the upholstery fabrics for the collection.
The modular sofa consists of sections that are like building blocks that can be used to create the right combination for the space and need. Each modular block—seat, backrest and arms—is subdivided into smaller textile panels, which are bonded together using the polyurethane tape. Pockets were created on the arm modules using the tape as well.
For more information, visit www.layerdesign.com.