Cassina Modular Imagination by Virgil Abloh
A Visionary Modular Furniture Collection
Inspiration
With “Modular Imagination,” Cassina is releasing one of the final “
” projects by the designer and architect Virgil Abloh, who passed away far too soon. The collaboration between the long-established Italian company and the American designer began in 2022, is now being released posthumously, and focuses on “the design implications of modularity.”
Cassina & Virgil Abloh “Modular Imagination”
The modular principle is nothing new in design. Modular furniture has been around since at least the 1970s. It can adapt to life’s changing needs and, in particular, enables personalized interior design solutions. Its adaptability makes it durable and sustainable. This is all the more important today, especially as home life is increasingly becoming an expression of individuality and social interaction. Given its relevance, it was no surprise that Virgil Abloh chose a modular system for his collaboration with Cassina. The choice of the cube as the basic building block for the Modular Imagination collection shows just how fundamentally simple such a system can be. The modules themselves, however, are somewhat more sophisticated than they appear at first glance.
The elements can be placed side by side or individually, allowing them to form anything from a small side table to a long bench. To connect the blocks, Abloh designed a special connecting module that allows the contrasting orange cylindrical legs to be inserted into the top of the unit below. A surprisingly supple plastic cushion surrounds the recycled wood frame inside each module. In collaboration with Cassina LAB, the manufacturer’s research department, Virgil Abloh wanted to ensure that his collection was sustainable. Together, they developed a system in which a dotted line beneath the furniture’s legs indicates where the soft padding can be separated from the wooden core so that both can be recycled separately.
Cassina could have produced a limited edition of the Modular Imagination Serien, but instead chose to include the pieces in its catalog. The brand explained: “In full recognition of Virgil Abloh’s work, Modular Imagination is being added to the Cassina catalog, thereby underscoring the value of this project, which is not intended to be a limited edition but rather to demonstrate the quality of his work in the world of design.”
Virgil Abloh: An Exceptional Designer and a Devoted Collaborator
Unfortunately, the exceptional designer did not live to see the Modular Imagination presentation during Milan Design Week 2022. When Virgil Abloh passed away unexpectedly in November 2021, it sent shockwaves through the design world. A trained architect, he was deeply immersed in hip-hop culture, serving as an art director, DJ, founder of his own fashion label Off-White, and menswear designer at Louis Vuitton. But that’s not all—he also worked on numerous projects in collaboration with other brands and artists. This is likely why his untimely death touched the creative world across various disciplines. For Virgil Abloh, dialogue with others and collaboration were a fundamental part of his work. Abloh’s various collaborations stemmed from his core concept, which he described as “tourists versus purists” and which served as the “organizing principle” of his entire body of work. The joint project with Cassina seems to have been the logical outcome of his creative work.
