36 ELLEDECORATION.CO.UK AU G U S T 2019
TRENDS
FURONG CHEN, WUU
Focusing on traditional Chinese materials to distinguish
his pieces from mass-produced fare, Furong Chen was
named Emerging Chinese Designer at Design Shanghai
in 2015, just one year after founding his own brand, Wuu.
Citing inspirations including Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec,
Konstantin Grcic and Donald Judd, the studio has already
collaborated with French-Chinese brand Maison Dada
on the ‘Looking for Dorian’ mirror (right), and creates
lighting, furniture and accessories (wuu.im).MARIO TSAI
Tsai founded his Hangzhou studio in 2014, and his minimal
style, with its small, poetic details – realised in monochrome
and natural materials – has brought him to the attention
of Chinese and European brands alike. He’s lent his simple,
rounded forms to Danish firms Ferm Living and Woud,
Oslo-based Northern and Italian lighting giant Flos, as
well as several Chinese companies (mariotsai.studio).
XIMI LI, URBANCRAFT
Before founding Shanghai-based Urbancraft in 2016, Li
worked for designers Andrea Branzi and Luca Trazzi in
Italy, and spent six years as Neri & Hu’s chief designer.
Inspired by Chinese heritage and Italian icons, such as
Gio Ponti and Carlo Scarpa, his brand incorporates historic
references into contemporary pieces – take the ‘By 3’
storage system (above), which fuses interlocking sections
of glass, terrazzo and marble. And the future is bright:
‘Italian and Nordic firms are already talking with us about
collaborations,’ he says (urbancraftdesign.com).PICTURE: XU XIAODONGFRANK CHOU
Growing up in Beijing and working in Europe has informed
the distinct east-meets-west aesthetic of the eponymous
Frank Chou Design Studio, established in 2012. Chou’s
‘Middle’ chair is a highly modern take on traditional
bamboo seats, while the ‘Combo’ modular system ( below)
is a reinvention of historic upholstery techniques, using
wool, leather and a mixture of other fabrics. ‘As designers,
we have a strong responsibility to lead, teach and fight
for a better future,’ says Chou (frankchou.com).SHERRY XU, 8 HOUR
‘Free and imaginative’ is how Sherry Xu describes the
work coming out of her studio, 8 Hour, which she founded
in 2016 after graduating from the Shanghai Academy
of Fine Arts. Her pieces are inspired by everyday life;
the new ‘Clips’ seating collection ( below) references the
changing shape of the paperclip, with rounded upholstered
pieces held on a looping steel frame. It can be seen at
WeWork shared offices across Asia (8hourdesign.com).