Project
Principessa
Client
Moroso
Year
2008
Type
Daybed
Description
Principessa is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. The piece is composed of many thin mattress layers stacked atop one another, recalling the bed from the story. The top layer features a jacquard weave depicting a graphic array of objects belonging to a modern princess preparing for a night out. These woven motifs range from the utilitarian to the glamorous – a hairdryer, sunglasses, necklace, cocktail glass – creating a playful contrast between everyday items and elements of adornment. The result is a piece that connects narrative, textile craft and contemporary life in a single, layered composition.
Credits
Photos: Alessandro Paderni
Drawing: Nipa Doshi
(Fig 1)
LAYER UPON LAYER
The daybed consists of 11 layers of thin upholstered mattresses. Nipa Doshi worked with Moroso’s upholsterers to choose handpicked offcuts of different fabrics. The concertina construction cleverly avoids the need to cover each layer individually.
(Fig 2)
PRINCESS PARAPHERNALIA
Woven into the jacquard, as if strewn across the daybed, are an array of objects a princess needs while preparing for a night out. Objects include a Braun hairdryer and an Issey Miyake watch by Naoto Fukasawa, alongside an invitation envelope and an enamel belt buckle.
(Fig 3)
INSPIRED BY THE TALE BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
The Princess and the Pea: a lone pea hidden beneath 20 mattresses and 20 feather beds proves the Princess’s extraordinary sensitivity. By morning, bruised and sleepless, she confirms her royal identity by having detected the pea through the many layers.
(Fig 4)
ORIGINAL SKETCH
The beauty of working with Patrizia Moroso, the creative visionary behind Moroso, is her ability to recognise potential in an early drawing.