An example of anti-design furniture.[Photo/Courtesy of Maxalto]

Swimming against the current of so-called "designer" furniture, a number of manufacturers now refer to their products as inspired by the movement of "anti-design." For such craftsmen, this philosophy allows them to concentrate on the original purpose and functionality of a piece in its purest and most natural form.

Design it high, sell it cheap

The original anti-design movement started in the 1960s in Italy with the rejection of mainstream design modes. This came about as a reaction to the burgeoning industry in low-cost furnishings, and which advocated the importance of designer elements as a tool to improve sales volumes.

Supporters of the anti-design movement believed that these strategies only perverted people's notion of what constituted good design.

The small, but vocal, anti-design contingent began to publicly criticize mainstream credos and set out to create a new definition, not only of Italian design, but also of the role of the nation's designers. They determined to focus more on the functionality of pieces, as opposed to adhering to spurious and abstract social and cultural beliefs that, they claimed, permeated the design industry. The effects of this movement were widespread and have influenced a whole generation of people working in the furniture industry.

And now in 2011, the anti-design movement has started to make ripples in the Chinese media. This month, The International Club Magazine devoted a two-page spread to anti-design furniture in its luxury lifestyle section.

Italian style

In 1993, the Italian designer Antonio Citterio began to cooperate with one of Italy's top furniture brands, Maxalto, based in Shanghai on Anfu Road. Citterio is adept at combining the retro-style of the early 20th century with classical French stylings into his designs. Maxalto has stated its developmental direction as lying in using traditional techniques to present a classical look to wooden furniture.

From its beginnings in 1975 in Novredate, Italy, Maxalto designers have sought inspiration from ancient designs and traditional carpentry techniques that were once thought lost to the industry.

In Citterio's opinion, a piece of furniture should be a part of a person's life, and something that should be integrated naturally into life.

"It's better to stick to basic ideas and design ethics as opposed to design concepts," commented the International Club Magazine story referring to Citterio's designs. Over the years, Citterio's designs have appeared in the James Bond series of movies and also in jewelry brand Bulgari's first hotel in Milan.

The Chinese landscape painter Zhao Gang adheres to an ethos of an anti-design interior for his own apartment. From the exterior structure, to the interior beam columns and exposed bricks and stones, all of the raw materials are unadorned, and obtained form local sources.

"To be particular about design is boring; it's like a beautiful, but boring woman. An anti-design apartment is more natural, real and full of vitality," said Zhao.

Money for old rope

But not everyone agrees with the philosophy of anti-design. Last September in London, the Anti-Design Festival was staged as part of the London Design Festival, and was led by magazine design legend Neville Brody. The works exhibited there were defined as being "non-commercial" and as employing "anti-design system" elements. But as some industry commentators have pointed out Brody, as a designer, is a part of the design system. There has also been criticism that the anti-design bandwagon is just another marketing ruse to justify high prices for what is, by its own definition, basic furniture.