The winners have been announced in the first 2020 edition of the competition “Toscanini – THE ART OF HANGING / 100 Years and Wearing Them Well”, launched by the Toscanini company, an industry leader in the production of clothes hangers and hanging solutions, to celebrate its hundred-year anniversary.
The contest brief, open to students of architecture, design and fashion, called for the design and restyling of three iconic objects in the company’s history (a shirt hanger, a trouser clamp, and a valet stand) using wood, leather and plexiglass, with minimal use of metal except for hooks and accessories. The numerous participants proved themselves able to respond to the criteria set forth in the contest rules, namely feasibility of production, aesthetics, functionality and eco-sustainability, in the unmistakable style of Toscanini products.
Submissions were evaluated by a jury composed of: Alberto Maffei (Architect), Giulio Iacchetti (Industrial designer), Guido Calcagni (Visual merchandising and Windows designer) and Federica Toscanini (Marketing and Sales Director of Toscanini.)
In first place, winner of a €2,000 prize, is the ALVAR valet stand presented by Giulia Aida Tosetti and Pietro Boz, inspired by the design pieces of Alvar Alto. ALVAR comes in two configurations, the first with a leather-covered vertical element and the second entirely in wood, both in various colours to coordinate with the decor in any home or commercial environment.
The valet stand features a leather-covered wooden clothes hanger inspired by the Cecilia model (Leather Touch Collection), a leather-covered valet tray, a metal trouser bar, and a shoe storage space with elegant metal detailing.
The product is fully customizable: colours and materials can be selected, and initials or logos can be embroidered on the leather surfaces.
In second place, winning a €1,000 prize, is the YACHT shirt, trouser and tie hanger presented by Giacomo Barabino and Francesco Vasquez. The design is inspired by Sixties style, reinterpreted through a contemporary eye. YACHT features a beechwood body carved with several slits used for hanging ties, and an elastic cord takes the place of the classic beam for hanging skirts and trousers.
Finally, in third place, winning a €500 prize, is the APPENDI MOLLA trouser clamp designed by Damiano Lorenzani. APPENDI MOLLA takes its inspiration from the shapes of office paper clamps, and proposes the mechanism used by plastic trouser clips instead of the usual fastening system used by the wooden models.
APPENDI MOLLA is made of two wooden “jaws” separated by a pin. The three wooden components are held together by a flexible, U-shaped steel element that enables its movements. A metal hook, inserted through the clamp and held in place by threading around the central pin, allows the trouser clamp to be hung.
Launched with the aim of supporting and promoting the talents of young students, this first 2020 edition of the Toscanini competition comes to a close having seen an excellent range of high-quality designs. The company is already beginning to think about the theme for 2021, demonstrating its now more than one hundred years of commitment to the excellence it is recognized for the world over, through support for creativity, research, and constant innovation.
