Award-winning Dubai-based interior designer Pallavi Dean makes her debut as a product designer at this year's Downtown Design.
Images of her first furniture and accessories collection, ‘Tension’ will be released in the lead up to the fair (25-28 October) but in the meantime Pallavi explains to the Downtown Design team the rationale behind the collection and its name.
“This collection answers a question that’s been burning an emotional hole inside my heart for 35 years: who am I? I’m Indian but I’ve never lived in India; the UAE is home but I’ll never be Emirati; my family’s British but at Heathrow I have to stand in a separate queue.
“For years this conflict weighed me down. Little did I know, it’s been my inner design mentor, sculpting my design identity far more than any formal degree has.
“Every creative needs an outlet – Calvin Harris has his beats, Miro had his canvas. I’m expressing my personal journey the only way I know how – in three dimension. Cultural tension has shaped me as a person, and physical tension shapes the collection. You’ll see it in the pieces: the tension between the organic camel leather and linear wood work. Tension between the delicate ball of light suspended by a strong metal chain.”
Pallavi continues:
“One of the things I’ve loved about creating ‘Tension’ is that I’m not seeking anyone’s approval. As an interior designer, it’s part of everyday life – approval from clients, contractors, regulators and even awards judges. By contrast, this range is very personal – the ideas, the designs, have just flowed. Of course, I hope people enjoy the pieces, and relate to the emotions they represent. Ultimately, though, they’re for me.”
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