Passionate about welding techniques, which he taught himself while restoring his vintage cars and motorcycles, Tom Dixon, an emblematic figure of contemporary design (and a would-be rock star), was born in Tunisia to an English father and a French-Latvian mother before growing up in London. He began his career as a furniture maker at a very young age, repurposing industrial scrap materials. His breakthrough came in 1985, when his work within the Creative Salvage design collective caught the attention of Giulio Cappellini, art director of the eponymous Milanese furniture company and a friend of Carla Sozzani. At the time, Sozzani was about to launch an innovative new space dedicated to fashion, art, and design, what would later become 10 Corso Como. From that moment on, setting aside his electric guitar, Tom Dixon devoted himself to exploring different materials and product typologies: armchairs, lighting, office accessories, chairs, vases, and furniture. Although today he likes to describe himself as only “occasionally” a designer, because he prefers to oversee the entire process rather than focus solely on the conceptual phase, from research and production to distribution and marketing, his multidisciplinary approach has become one of the hallmarks of his work.
1. Your collaboration with Giulio Cappellini marked a defining moment in your creative journey: the iconic S-Chair, with its organic, almost sculptural silhouette, has entered the permanent collections of institutions such as the MoMA in New York and Triennale Milano. Looking back at that project today, what continuity do you see with your current research?
« What continuity? Well, even though the forms and materials have changed, I think I’m still genuinely obsessed with how things are made, the technologies required to produce them, craftsmanship, industry, and I remain deeply interested in materials and in understanding how different materials behave. The S-Chair began in recycled rubber, then evolved into natural fibres, and eventually became a seat upholstered in regenerated leather thanks to Cappellini. It’s still an ongoing journey, shaped by what I continue to learn about manufacturing processes and materials. That’s where I see the continuity. The S-Chair was probably the first chair I designed that was truly comfortable, which was a very important milestone for me because I had already produced three, four, or five different versions before Cappellini saw it. The story of the chair is also linked to Carla Sozzani, who introduced me to Giulio because she wanted to organise an exhibition featuring Marc Newson, Chris Ross, and myself in an empty space in Milan that would later become 10 Corso Como. She wanted to exhibit a handcrafted piece that could then be industrially produced by Giulio Cappellini».
2. Throughout your career, you have maintained an almost alchemical relationship with materials: metals, glass, plastics, felt, industrial surfaces, and unexpected textures. Is there one material with which you feel you have developed a deeper connection? And is there another, still unexplored, that particularly intrigues you today?
« I’m always interested in investigating materials I don’t yet know. Right now, I think my focus is shifting towards existing materials that, thanks to new technologies, can be processed in entirely new ways. Today there’s a great deal of research into extraordinary materials that can be ‘grown’, genetically modified, or engineered through completely different processes. My interest, however, lies more in natural materials that can be transformed through rapidly evolving manufacturing technologies and machinery. Recently, for example, I’ve become very interested in cork, I’ve been exploring glassblowing, and at the moment I’m particularly drawn to textiles, which is something I haven’t worked with extensively before.»
3. How can sustainability, now considered one of the most important and indispensable values, be reconciled with design?
« Sustainability needs to be integrated into every action a designer takes, although it’s very difficult to claim to be sustainable when you’re producing new things: that act in itself is not sustainable. My argument in favour of sustainability revolves around longevity and durability. I believe designers, especially those working with furniture and lighting, are fortunate because we create objects that are consumed slowly, unlike fashion, food, or holidays. The furniture industry represents a model of slow consumption because people can’t change their interiors as often as they change T-shirts or book holidays every week. Furniture can last five, ten, twenty, or even two hundred years, isn’t it? My interest increasingly lies in making objects less fashionable, so they don’t go out of fashion, and more robust, so they last even longer. For example, I live with my great-grandmother’s desk, a small French writing desk that she bought from an antique dealer. It was already in the Louis XVI style, perhaps dating from around 1850, when she purchased it, so it was already a vintage piece: I think the important challenge for every designer is to avoid creating disposable objects. And because I’ve been working for around forty years, I’m beginning to see my own pieces reappear on the market as vintage objects. I can now observe which designs have stood the test of time, both stylistically and structurally, and which remain valuable today. It’s fascinating to see my older pieces turning up in antique shops.»
4. Throughout your creative career, you have explored many different fields, from hospitality and technology to retail and the nautical sector, for example, with the interiors of the RockStar Suites aboard Virgin Voyages’ luxury cruise ships. An inevitable question: what do you enjoy most about designing a yacht or the interiors of a vessel?
« It’s not exactly enjoyable… because it’s an extremely demanding environment. Materials need to be more durable due to sun exposure, cold, humidity, and saltwater, and the design process has to take all these factors into account. At the same time, it’s incredibly interesting because the spaces are compact, which creates a genuine design challenge: you have to make the most of very limited areas. Another aspect is that a vessel is a moving structure, constantly unstable, which means you have to design very differently than you would on land. Ultimately, though, those are precisely the reasons why it’s rewarding to design for this sector, because the challenge is greater. And I think there’s also a romantic dimension connected to travelling across the water, moving from place to place, and inhabiting different countries. The nautical world has a unique allure and is filled with extraordinary stories.».
5. Don’t you think some of your outdoor collections, such as the aluminium Groove line, already possess the ideal qualities for the marine environment: lightness, durability, technical precision, and elegance?
« Yes, exactly. I hadn’t thought about it that way. I was thinking about beaches and beachfront restaurants, but not boats. You’re absolutely right. It’s a perfect fit. Thank you!».
