Sofas are the new kitchen islands, says designer Tom Dixon

“We’re finding at the studio that there is a new-found flexibility in how we’re all working and living – so we’re more multipurpose in our interiors,” says the industrial designer Tom Dixon. “Our experience working across product, interiors and hospitality gives us a particular insight and fuels our understanding of what people buy, what they want and need.”

Dixon remains hands-on across all aspects of his brand, and is currently focusing on modularity in furniture, along with more portable lighting. “Sofas are interesting,” he says. “People are in close proximity with each other on a sofa – we spend a lot of time there. We wanted something that was modular. I love Chesterfields, but they’re pretty dusty, so we redrew the outline – that’s our new Plump sofa.”

The sofa is changing its nature, Dixon adds, just as kitchens have evolved. “They were stuck to the wall before kitchen islands changed that – then they became social spaces where people wanted to cluster. The sofa is doing the same, so we’re considering how they look and feel. Sofas used to be shoved against the wall, facing the fireplace, everyone lined up listening to the radio and, later, watching television. Now we’re looking at our own devices, so moving a sofa to the middle of the room is a great way to commune.”

Portability in lighting is also a focus for Dixon, who has created a series of miniature lights with more sustainable LEDs and batteries. “Battery technology has really improved because of electric cars, and we’re more accustomed to charging devices,” he explains. “With lighting we’re no longer tethered to the wall, and with our innovations you suddenly have more than 10 hours of portable luminosity, as it was when people carried gas lamps and candles 150 years ago. The movement was ignited by restaurants during lockdown moving outside and not having the right lighting. We’re liking that flexibility for work and entertainment, and that tiny bit of engineering has liberated designers to do all kinds of new things.”

Newness is essential to Dixon. When he began designing in London in the mid-1980s, the plan was to control not just the design, but also the production and distribution of his collections. His aesthetic is defined, stylish and bold, often led by material, technology or process, without surface decoration, but expressive in its form.

“Designers don’t often get to create their own worlds,” says Dixon. “A fashion designer has stock, marketing, wholesale and retail – that’s what I set out to do. It’s difficult because we’re across so many categories – lighting, furniture, perfumes, accessories, tableware. That’s complicated, but it has made us more robust.”

Defiantly nonconformist, the self-taught designer has enjoyed commercial successes such as the S-Chair (later produced by Cappellini) and the Jack light. The sprawling Tom Dixon headquarters are now in Coal Drops Yard, in a revitalised King’s Cross. A space for innovation and connection, his HQ houses the main design studio, a retail arm, a trade counter, an exhibition space, a restaurant and Dixon’s interiors consultancy, Design Research Studio, whose clients include Shoreditch House and the Silverleaf bar at the Pan Pacific. Dixon also has a space in Milan, The Manzoni, which includes a showroom and restaurant.

The Tom Dixon brand usually presents its new products each April during the Salone del Mobile in Milan. So often the outlier, Dixon showcased new collections in Copenhagen in June 2024, during the annual 3 Days of Design event, too. He has also addressed the flood of fakes on the market by launching Unbeaten. “My Beat lights are hand-beaten in brass by artisans in India,” he explains. “They were probably our first big commercial hit and helped to build the company. The fakes are flimsy machined aluminium, but it’s hard to tell online. So we created the Unbeaten lights, which have the same values, but are half the price. This gives the light new life and creates a new narrative for the original design.”

What’s next for the brand? “Outdoor furniture is entirely new for us,” says Dixon. “We showed a few pieces in Copenhagen as a preview. The collection is called Groove – it uses its own corrugated aluminium structure as decoration and looks a bit like corduroy.” The chairs, stools and tables will be available from January 2025. “We’re also working on an articulated portable light called Pose, as well as the Melt oversized lighting pieces to suspend from trees.”

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