Holloway Li References "'90s Optimism" For Debut Furniture Collection
Featuring curves inspired by lava lamps and inflatable chairs.
If you’re old enough to remember television in the ’90s and early naughties, chances are you’ll recall the giant chair used in the so-called “Diary Room” on the reality TV show, Big Brother. Seating the contestants as they’d pour their hearts out to the camera, the fixture became an icon in its own right, and now, London design studio Holloway Li is bringing it back in a 2022 format.
During the upcoming London Design Festival, the design studio will team up with furniture company Uma to present the “T4” collection. It marks the studio’s first-ever release and is intended to make a nostalgic statement. It is available in four colors – Melon Yellow, Blush Pink, Overground Orange, and Cream Soda – and features a shell frame made from composites more typically found in the automotive industry. Its bulbous silhouette echoes 90s decor – think gloopy lava lamps and iconic inflatable chairs.
Its modularity allows multiple chairs to be grouped together to create longer sofas or lounge chairs. Each has been hand-finished in Uma’s factory, and fabrics have been locally sourced.
“As a studio, we’re always looking to film and television to tell new stories through design,” say Alex Holloway and Na Li, the co-founders of Holloway Li. “In creating the series, we wanted to reference our childhood memories of the optimism of the 90s Big Brother era and the colorful brash scenography that dominated our screens growing up; transporting this joyful nostalgia into our homes”.
The new collaboration will be unveiled at The Market Building in London’s Clerkenwell during the city-wide Design Festival, which this year takes place from September 17 to 25. Elsewhere in design, we caught up with Ann Demeulemeester as she launches her first-ever collection for the home.
