Before anyone gets the wrong impression about its members doing renditions of the latest pop tunes, "lounge act" actually refers to the group’s innovative concept in presenting its latest collection of home pieces and furnishings. Movement 8 is, of course, the Philippines’ leading group of eclectic furniture-and-home accessories designers known worldwide for its cutting-edge perspective on design, translated into avant-garde home pieces.
Although "8" initially corresponded to the number of its founding members, it eventually took on different, even more profound, meanings. It became symbolic of infinity, eternity, and the state of continuance, which also articulates the timeless appeal of its products. The word "movement" was chosen as it captures the vitality and versatility of the group’s design ideas.
Movement 8 was formed in 1999 following the highly successful participation of like-minded individuals (all of whom make up its current roster) in the Feria Internacional del Mueble in Valencia, Spain. Eager buyers literally lined up and crowded their booth to have a look at what people were raving about. Clearly, it was the stunning furniture and home accessories presented in a stylish lifestyle setting, painstakingly put together and artistically "edited" by one of the group’s founding members, Antonio "Budji" Layug.
"Although each of the products is beautiful in itself, I believe that its selling point lies in the presentation. It’s just a matter of placing one designer’s ottoman beside another’s chaise longue, throwing in some of this designer’s pillows, accentuating it with someone’s artwork, and completing the ambiance with someone else’s lighting fixtures – the results of which could be utterly dramatic," says Layug.
Through its designs, it is obvious that the group has an affinity for natural and indigenous materials, which is one of the major reasons why its pieces are much sought-after internationally. However, each designer has a forte, and favors using certain media – paper, bamboo, metal, resin, and abaca, among others. Wouldn’t a chair made of wood and abaca rope be out of place in a sea of metals and resins? Budji thinks otherwise. "Which is why it is very important that our designs and products complement each other," he stresses. Needless to say, this style of presentation proved to be very effective as all the pieces the group showcased were sold out on the first day.
Other than the group’s unique manner of presenting products, Movement 8 holds no secret formula to its success. In fact, the group’s design philosophy is simple: to make beautiful products that impeccably combine industrial manufacturing techniques and practices with indigenous and natural materials. This mind-set, along with its members’ finely honed artistic skills, has given birth to a new design aesthetic, which Budji emphatically refers to as "tropical moderne."
Although purists would say that this "new design aesthetic" is anything but, there is a palpable difference in the way Movement 8 reinterprets this concept to create objets d’art that are unlike anything anybody has ever seen before.
The difference also lies in how the group radically modifies and breaks given sets to come up with groundbreaking creations. Its misgivings over the norm inevitably lead to distinction, which is the hallmark of a Movement 8 design. In the detail, deviation takes shape, the viewer’s attention focuses on it; each piece compels a nearer view – to inspect, analyze, and digest. Effects of this kind are rare; Movement 8’s designs are undeniably compelling. So compelling that a number of international award-giving bodies have noticed and recognized the group for its exceptional work.
Barely two years after the group was formed, Movement 8 won the coveted Editors Craftsmanship Award at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair 2001 in New York, besting more than 600 entries from all over the world. Judges were impressed with the group’s designs and handling and crafting of materials, which they said was on a level with an art form.
The following year, two of its members were featured in the 17th edition of the International Design Yearbook. An excerpt from the book reads: "New this year are works by Movement 8, a group from the Philippines that has a profound respect for the natural world from which they derive their organic and biomorphic forms. Their designs show a restraint of form and economy of embellishment that emphasize textural detail and surface pattern. They have a purity of form that is not the aesthetic sterility of minimalism but rather a dematerialization or honing-down of the unnecessary in order to enhance the sensual and emotional impact of both the workmanship and the inherent quality of the simple materials used."
Creations of several Movement 8 members were also given the G-Mark seal by the Japan Industrial Promotion Organization (2003 and 2004). The G-Mark (or Good Design Award) is Japan’s only comprehensive design evaluation and commendation system instituted by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in 1957. It is awarded to products for their originality in design, superior quality, function, performance, safety, and market potential.
This series of auspicious events undeniably gave the Philippines the recognition it justly deserves. In the International Design Yearbook’s 2004 edition, editor Tom Dixon wrote: "Over the last few years, the Philippines has produced an outpouring of ethnic designs. Utilizing traditional local materials such as wicker, rope, and wood, they have produced furniture that seems to echo the lines of ancient rafts and boats. For such a remote location, they have had an impact on the design scene."
Budji says in hindsight, "We used to be condemned to the back halls of all the European fairs because the Philippines is a third-world country. But immediately after our first-ever participation in Valencia, we were asked to join one of the most prestigious by-invitation-only shows in the USA, where Philippe Starck was curator."
Unquestionably, Movement 8 wows its audience wherever it goes. The list of international fairs they have participated in is impressive: Maison et Objet in Paris, the International Furniture Fair in Germany, International Furniture and Interior Design Exhibition (INDEX) in Dubai, and the Manila F.A.M.E. International in the Philippines, among others. The latter is where the group’s huge following of international buyers go, apparently to check out what other great products this underestimated country and its talented people produce.
Held twice annually (shortly after the Salone show on April 18 to 21), Manila F.A.M.E. International is considered Southeast Asia’s best source of exceptional products and is home to a new generation of forward-looking designers currently making waves in the international scene.
Think about it: more than 500 exhibitors from all over the Philippines in five cavernous halls teeming with furniture, home and fashion accessories, fine jewelry, leather goods, giftware, paper products, and all kinds of holiday décor imaginable. Having been referred to in recent years as the "Milan of Asia" by buyers, anyone who wants products of exceptional design and quality should go to this fair.
Meanwhile, in Milan, Italy, it was considered unwise for buyers not to visit Movement 8’s "lounge act" at the Salone fair, which, by its allusion, is considered atypical of the group’s much-celebrated aesthetic of Tropical Moderne.
Not so. "The signature Movement 8 look of clean, understated lines, curvilinear shapes, and the clever mix of materials is still there," said Budji before he left for Milan, as he wanted to keep an element of surprise about their newest offering.
The group’s sleek black-and-neon brochure also revealed as much. Its blurb reads: "Movement 8 stages a lounge act that displays a progressive modern rhythm and a pulsating beat; chills it down a notch with a surprising mix of laid-back sophistication and fresh melodies." Indeed, this presentation sounds as mysterious as it is exciting.
Hard to miss is the group’s new, very stylish and modern logo designed by Tony Gonzales and executed by CITEM graphic designer Macky Lim, who also did the brochure.
Joining Layug in this lounge act are fellow Movement 8 members Carlo Cordaro, Milo Naval, Tes Pasola, Tony Gonzales, Ann Pamintuan, Luisa Robinson, and Kenneth Cobonpue, with "guest performers" Jeannie Goulbourn, Charles Belleza, Emmanuel Delingon, and Maricris Floirendo-Brias.
To pique our curiosity, Budji gave us a teaser about the booth’s look: "More relaxed and casual pieces yet hip and trendy at the same time. The height of the furniture is lower with hints of color for contrast. The whole thing will be swathed in yards and yards of pleated Philippine silk by Jeannie. It is utterly decadent and sophisticated."
And as the photos on these pages show – shared with us by Liza Dimaculangan, CITEM project manager for the Salone show – it is clear that Movement 8 has done just that. Truly, another winning presentation that is unlike your typical lounge act.