Allegra Hicks Explores the Versatility of Bronze with New Collection for Nilufar

Allegra Hicks. Photo: Francesco Squeglia

Nestled in the heart of Milan, Nilufar’s cavernous Viale Lancetti Venue, founded by Nina Yashar, is always abuzz during the annual Design Week thanks to a seemingly endless array of artisan-made treasures presented in expertly curated vignettes. Debuting at this year’s edition, which kicks off next week, is a suite of new furnishings and accessories by Turin-born, London-based designer Allegra Hicks, who explored notions of materiality and transformation for the series, dubbed Metamorphosis.

Among the new works is a table crafted out of woven ropes of bronze and crowned by a hand-painted linen top that’s been submerged in resin, an allusion to a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon, transforming from soft and formless to solid and strong. “I am interested in pursuing endeavors that resonate with my personal affinity, with profound truth that transcends the ebb of trends,” says Hicks. “Crochet, for instance, is a craft I’ve long desired to experiment with: I like to create diverse elements from the same core, in the development of a vocabulary that gives life to different expressions.”

Also on display will be hand-knotted wool rugs, silk-embroidered hangings, side tables that double as containers, and cotton-embroidered sofas. “Nina possesses an exceptional vision, a keen eye: I have always been intrigued by ‘the eye,’” she adds. “The Viale Lancetti’s venue, a space I particularly admire, showcases a diverse array of visions that are unmistakably curated by the same individual—a testament to the unique discernment of that very eye.”