Heavy lifting and design-world looks in Piccadilly
By Tom Howells
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“Design has always been a key element of our journey, a strong ally in transforming functionality into emotion and needs into aspirations,” says Nerio Alessandri, the founder and president of Technogym. “I believe that harmony and beauty are always much more attractive to people than basic functionality.”
It’s a credo the esteemed Italian sports equipment company has lived since its inception in 1983. Its beginnings were rather modest: it was founded by Alessandri when, at 22, he designed and built a piece of gym equipment in the family garage. It’s a testament to the company’s ambition that it now legitimately positions itself as a “comprehensive ecosystem of wellness lifestyle”.
This crossover is neatly emphasised in the exhibition Design to Move. First presented at this year’s Salone del Mobile in Milan, a carefully truncated version of the show – a vivid array of 40 Technogym workout benches, aesthetically reimagined by a host of lauded global designers – will be in situ at the brand’s 71 Piccadilly store for LDF24.
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It was originally conceived, explains Alessandri, to explore the “special and deep relationship between design and wellness, style and functionality, emotional and physical aspects” that have long been integral to Technogym’s identity. That might sound like a lot of flexing, but the display – laid out by the architect and designer Giulio Cappellini and the curator Bruna
Roccasalva – features work by the visionary polymaths Kelly Hoppen, Myles Igwebuike, Elena Salmistraro and Gustavo Martini (as well as a design by Alessandri himself), throwing wide open the vibrant possibilities of kit normally rendered in minimalistic monochrome.
They are all for the taking, too: at the close of the festival, 15 of the benches will be auctioned by Sotheby’s, while the other 25 will be available to buy on Technogym’s website – with all proceeds going to Unicef. Who said pumping iron had to be self-indulgent?
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