Flou: blurring the boundaries between inside and out

The immediacy of satisfaction that the digital world serves up, be it in retail, service or communications, is changing the way we consider small comforts in all walks of life. Our brains are reconditioning to expect what we want, how we want it, where we want it and when we want it, simply because we have learnt the potential is there – or can be if what we want exists. It is how Massimiliano Messina, president of the Italian furniture brand Flou, explains the rapid evolution of outdoor furniture, now massaged structurally, materially and stylistically to perfectly align with our interior aesthetics, while possessing all the ruggedness required to weather life outside.

‘For the customer, the option of a unique style that straddles indoors and outdoors is a precise request,’ explains Messina. ‘We are increasingly used to having things immediately. Everything has become accessible – news, merchandise, services at home and in no time. We want to feel good everywhere in the same way and having identified the style that makes us feel at ease at home, we want to be able to transfer the same mood to wherever we are.’

For Messina it isn’t simply a lockdown fallout – the need for beauty to combine with comfort in an outdoor setting was already bubbling before we were all confined ‘The pandemic has simply accelerated the process,’ he says. ‘The need to feel "well" and in pleasant environments, even in the open air, has become increasingly important.’

The challenge has been for material and technical developments to keep up with demand – and in particular the evolution of textiles that are tough and tactile in equal measure. Among Flou’s response are the fabrics Fabian and Miguel. Fabian is made from high-quality polypropylene that is fireproof and water resistant, but whose dense woven make-up and bouclé stripe gives a fashionably handmade appearance and texture that is soft to the touch. Its natural tones slot with ease into biophilic interiors, just as they complement the nature in our outdoor rooms.

Miguel, meanwhile, is made from new-generation fibres that are highly effective in their resistance to water and solar radiation, but are also fire-resistant and water washable. Made in Italy, its surface design gives a three-dimensional Jacquard effect. They are applied to the Pierre seating and poufs, designs created as interior pieces for Flou by Studio Contromano in 2021, but now kitted out for life under open skies. The softly, irregularly contoured poufs have also gained new sizes and more padding for increased comfort both indoors and out.

The imperceptibly reinforced Pierre collection joins pieces from Flou’s Gaudi and  Fiocco collection that have already crossed the threshold into the open, truly unifying the look and feel of our inner and outer landscapes. ‘Just a few years ago, outdoor fabrics were very similar to plastic and generally not very pleasant to the touch,’ says Messina. ‘Now our outdoor fabrics are so pleasant that we also use them indoors in many projects. In fact, they are often more appreciated for their great resistance to wear and stains and their ease of maintenance – characteristics that in just a few years have been specially developed by the textile industry.’

While many furniture brands were busy taking their waterproofed wares into the piazzas and plant-strewn arcades of central Milan during April’s Salone del Mobile, Flou launched its newly fortified pieces fit for outdoors by installing a lawn in the halls of the fair itself. It was the perfect way to tell the two-way story that is set to endure - the outward trajectory of indoor style, and the indoor travel of technical textiles.

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