Self-taught British designer Tom Dixon may be a familiar name in the world of home furnishings and interior design, but it appears that now the award winning creator is turning his hand to tyres.
In a unique collaboration with Pirelli, Tom has created a trio of brand new innovative and original scooter tyre patterns.
The creations are due to go on display at Milan Design Week as part of Tom’s exhibition entitled “MULTIPLEX, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Show” at the Galleria Manzoni from 4th – 9th April 2017.
Displayed alongside the tyres will be a selection of materials preserved by the Pirelli foundation including technical sketches, historic advertisements and a giant reproduction of the famous Meo Romeo cat.
The collaboration between Pirelli and Tom Dixon was born almost by accident during a visit in 2016 when the designer went to Pirelli HQ in Milan. Dixon visited the Pirelli HangarBicocca, the non-profit foundation, established in 2004, which has converted a former industrial plant in Milan into an institution for producing and promoting contemporary art. He also visited the Pirelli Foundation, in which are stored historical archived documents on the history and activity of the company from its establishment in 1872 to the current day and the Research and Development Center where he observed in detail the process by which grooves on the tyres are cut by hand.
This gave rise to the collection of tyres “Pirelli by Tom Dixon” that the designer describes as follows:
“I’ve always been interested in design, in motorcycles and in rubber as a material- so it’s a real pleasure to be working with Pirelli whose history in these fields is well known -and whose numerous collaborations with artists and designers are legendary. It has been fascinating working with a company with such historical expertise to produce a series of new patterns within the complex series of technical parameters that exist in motorcycle tyre production”.
