20 Jul 2023
District Eight is a furniture and design object brand based in Ho Chi Minh City. It is named after the famous Saigon district, a true crossroads of past and present, rich in influences from different cultures and countries, including Chinese, Vietnamese, and European heritage.
District Eight is the most appreciated Vietnamese brand of international design enthusiasts, brought to the forefront thanks to authoritative collaborations that have accompanied the production since its origins.
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Since its inception, founder Darren Chew has been able to skillfully blend Vietnamese art and craft traditions with international formal influences, creating collections with essential and minimalist lines, skillfully executed by local masters, while maintaining a strong focus on sought-after and natural materials such as solid timber from sustainable responsible sources, metal, leather, and stone.
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Toan Nguyen’s two collections for District Eight, Stilt and Joss, although with distinctive formal solutions, reflect the designer’s poetic sensitivity and multidisciplinary approach, which embraces the company’s productive values in their aesthetic vocabulary.
The Stilt Collection: Toan Nguyen’s formal minimalism and Vietnamese Heritage
Toan Nguyen’s innovative and surprising design, French, with Vietnamese origins, is embodied in his latest collection for District Eight: the Stilt collection, a harmonious synthesis of tradition and modernity, functionality and aesthetics, with attention paid to the environment and product quality. The collection reflects the designer’s multidisciplinary approach and poetic sensitivity, which manages to unite technology and craftsmanship in a virtuous dialogue between man and nature.
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Nguyen uses oak wood for a structural solution that pays homage to typical Vietnamese stilt houses, then combines it with steel, giving the collection a unique cultural identity.
“The metal completes the construction, playing an essential role in stabilizing the structure while lightening the silhouette," says Toan Nguyen. "As much as the wood is generous and round, so the metal is its exact opposite.”
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The Stilt collection includes a sofa module, an armchair with a footrest, a chaise lounge, a series of tables, and a bed. The structure of the sofa and armchair features cushions that delicately rest on a curved wooden base covered in handcrafted leather or fabric. The chaise lounge draws on the construction know-how of the seats, reworked with a new modifiable comfort through the movement of the rocking element and welcoming base support.
The Stilt table series is available in different configurations, high and low versions, with tabletops of various sizes - round, square, or rectangular - providing greater versatility and functionality.
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The Stilt bed, entirely upholstered in handcrafted fabric or leather, is characterized by a sinuous and thin line that expresses its warm and welcoming nature. The tailoring of the finishes emerges in the structural and decorative steel elements, which give the bed an elegant and refined look on all four sides, making it the absolute centrepiece of the bedroom, even in the middle of the room.
Joss. A collection paying tribute to the ancestral forms of Asian architecture
Toan Nguyen’s distinctive vision of Asian influence in District Eight’s design has inspired Joss, a new collaboration that expands the boundaries of craftsmanship. The collection of monolithic-sized sofas is a contemporary statement of harmony and tranquillity. Characterized by a curvature at the top of the solid wood base, the collection pays explicit homage to traditional Asian architecture. The curved lines are reflected sinuously in the solid volumes of the seats, backs, and armrests, creating a strong identity and giving the collection a decidedly contemporary look. Each element of the collection represents a sculptural work of art.
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The Joss collection consists of nine individual components, including a daybed and a coffee table, that can be combined in various formats to adapt to the needs of constantly evolving contemporary spaces.
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