Inspirations

Design News: Kvadrat Presents a Shaker Collection by Raf Simons of Prada

It’s been nearly 10 years since we ran Christine Chang Hanway’s How Shaker Peg Rails Saved My Sanity, our first of many posts on Shaker utility. Back then, peg rails were hard to come by—Christine sourced hers from a small speciality company in Michigan (link in post). We’ve since seen Shaker pegs appear in shops and interiors far and wide, including on the cover of our book, The Organized Home.

Now, high fashion has a peg rail of its own courtesy of Raf Simons. Esteemed Danish textile house Kvadrat has just presented its latest collaboration with Simons, the “Shaker System,” a collection of accessories for “resetting how we live and creating beauty from order.”

Simons is the co-creative director of Prada (a position he shares with Miuccia Prada). And though he has one of the world’s most impressive fashion resumes—his past roles include artistic director at Jil Sander and at Christian Dior—he’s actually self-taught as a fashion designer and has a degree in industrial design. So it’s no surprise that his interests are far-ranging: “I don’t want to show clothes,” Simons has been quoted as saying. “I want to show my attitude, my past, present, and future.” Creating his own refined take on Shaker design appears to be what’s currently on his mind.

kvadrat—which translates as “square”—unv 9
Above: Kvadrat—which translates as “square”—unveiled the Shaker Collection in an updated barn on the Swedish island of Gotland.

the centerpiece of the collection is a shaker peg rail inspired horizontal hang 10
Above: The centerpiece of the collection is a Shaker peg rail-inspired horizontal hanging bar with interior hanging tabs. The vintage wooden furniture in the showroom is by Swedish designer Axel Einar Hjorth and was sourced from Jacksons, a Stockholm midcentury showroom.
the shaker system bar is made of powder coat aluminum upholstered in vidar 4, a 11
Above: The Shaker System Bar is made of powder-coat aluminum upholstered in Vidar 4, a Simons-designed wool, and comes in two sizes and four colors.

the collection’s raf simons designed accessories, include a lambswo 12
Above: The collection’s Raf Simons-designed accessories, include a Lambswool Throw with whipstitched edging, a Leather Magazine Strap, a Leather Strap that pairs with a hanging mirror and other add-ons, and a Lambswool Cushion.
there’s also a raf simons designed vidar cap, leather accessory box 13
Above: There’s also a Raf Simons-designed Vidar Cap, Leather Accessory Box for the Leather Strap, and Vidar Tote Bag of leather and wool with a zippered top.
the lambswool throw in black—its label pays tribute to kvadrat’s  14
Above: The Lambswool Throw in black—its label pays tribute to Kvadrat’s start during the Pop movement of the 1960s. The armchair is Axel Einar Hjorth’s Utö design from 1932.
the collection comes in a surprise pink. prices available on request. kvadrat r 15
Above: The collection comes in a surprise pink. Prices available on request. Kvadrat reports the Shaker System is available in its shop at Møntergade 3D in Copenhagen, at Browns East in London, and will soon launch on Canadian online shops Goodee and Ssense. Follow the news @Kvadrat/Raf Simons.

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