The Japanese economy has suffered more than its share of hardships in recent years, but, thanks to its unique design identity, its furniture industry still has a valid place in the world – says Furniture News editor Paul Farley, who explores Tokyo’s small – but perfectly formed – IFFT/Interior Lifestyle Living exhibition.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan described the earthquake that devastated the country’s Pacific Coast in March last year as “the toughest and the most difficult crisis” Japan had faced since the end of World War II. In economic terms, confidence in Japan’s consumer market was hit hard, and the country’s principal international furniture fair, IFFT/Interior Lifestyle Living, lost participants and visitors from several key markets.
According to organiser Messe Frankfurt, the company behind such shows as Heimtextil and Ambiente, 19,166 visitors were welcomed this year – a further drop from 2011’s figures, perhaps, yet renewed participation from international businesses hints at modest recovery. At 338 exhibitors, the show itself is small, and caters to a wide spectrum of interiors sectors, yet its identity is increasingly well defined – IFFT/Interior Lifestyle Living is all about high quality and high design.
The general qualities for which Japanese products are renowned – detail, craftsmanship and ergonomics – certainly manifest in the country’s furniture and furnishings. Coupled with a genuinely unique design identity derived from both traditional and modern Japanese influences, this means that buyers will find unique product here, albeit at prices that reflect the industry invested in it.
The exhibition floor is laid out in specific zones, design-oriented offerings and accessories book-ending the more mainstream products, and several feature areas add depth to the experience. This year, these included Creative Resource, a focus on material re-use, curated by architect Keiji Ashizawa.
With nods to DIY solutions and new applications, this zone proved particularly relevant given the natural disaster suffered in 2011 – leading Japanese supplier Karimoku Furniture also tackled the issue, employing an abundance of sustainable materials, and offering furniture with ‘earthquake-proof’ qualities such as shatter-proof glass, sliding doors, drawer locks and bolt-to-wall fittings.
Regular exhibitor Asahikawa Furniture Industry Co presided over the Asahikawa2 brand showcase, a collection of high quality furniture from Japan’s most renowned furniture-making region. As part of the feature, Conde House, a long-time exhibitor at imm cologne, delivered an array of award-winning chair designs.
As befits its cool, mountainous environment, Asahikawa, Hokkaido’s furniture tends towards Scandinavian curves and simplicity – so the nearby Nordic Lifestyle feature and dedicated Finland Pavilion felt very much at home here. Its participants included Artek, and the Japanese divisions of Design House Stockholm and Carl Hansen & Son – reflecting Japan’s reach within the global design community
Japan Style, a project that was initiated at Germany’s Ambiente fair in 2004, came home once again to highlight the traditional Japanese handicrafts and materials adapted for the demands of modern lifestyles. Following varied traditional and modern Japanese influences – from cultural ceremonies to Manga art – Japanese ceramic, steel and wood crafts are brought together in Japan Style and skewed to meet modern tastes.
A good example of Japan Style’s participants is Time & Style, a Hokkaido-based company that utilises Japanese ash (tamo), oak (nara) and North American walnut to develop clean, compact ranges for the high-end Japanese and Chinese markets.
Led by a committee of design experts dubbed Creative Direction, the special features are a strong element of the fair’s steady recovery. They certainly help draw attention towards the thematic trends of the fair, including the dominance of pale, curved wood – again, distinctly Scandinavian in feel – compact shapes derived from Zen Buddhism, and an underlying focus on lasting quality and comfort.
In a world in which every emerging furniture-producing economy is clamouring to establish a unique identity, Japan’s design aesthetic emerges as attractive, self-assured, and in keeping with contemporary UK tastes. Thanks to these qualities, the fair continues to fulfil a modest yet vital international demand.
Next year’s IFFT/ Interior Lifestyle Living will be held from 6-8th November, again at Tokyo Big Sight’s East Hall. Its sister fair, Interior Lifestyle Tokyo, will take place between 5-7th June 2013, in the venue’s West Hall.
