Lebanese designer Khaled El Mays took inspiration from a popular action film to handcraft the Transformers Furniture Collection. The collection includes a sofa and armchairs that look like they can unfold into giant furniture creatures, much like the Transformers characters.
Informed by the famous Japanese-American franchise, Khaled El Mays heavily abstracts and romanticizes his furniture collection. By reconstructing the typical appearance of household furniture, the designer's collection evokes bent limbs and crouched figures with its large proportions and complicated shapes.
Made of bulbous, overstuffed cushions, the brown cotton sofa and the pair of armchairs are joined at sharp angles to achieve a leaning appearance. The collection is artisanally made in Lebanon from wooden frames and upholstered in vintage cotton from the 1980s.
Action Movie-Inspired Furniture
Khaled El Mays Handmade the Transformers Furniture Collection
Trend Themes
1. Action Movie-inspired Furniture - Opportunity for designers to create furniture inspired by popular action films, incorporating elements of the films' characters.
2. Transformer-inspired Furniture - Opportunity to design furniture that can transform, folding or changing appearance, using materials and technology that can support this functionality.
3. Handcrafted Furniture Collections - Opportunity to explore unique handmade designs using different materials and cultural/societal inspirations.
Industry Implications
1. Furniture Design - Opportunity for the furniture design industry to create unique designs that will appeal to those interested in pop culture, while also being highly functional and comfortable.
2. Film Industry Merchandise - Opportunity for the film industry to generate additional revenue through merchandise partnerships with furniture designers and manufacturers.
3. Handmade Furniture Production - Opportunity for artisanal furniture makers and local manufacturers to create unique handmade furniture collections that draw upon cultural or other inspirations.