DESIGN

Philip Caggiano's High-Octane Furniture

Aluminium is a key ingredient in high-end racing cars, including those of Formula One.
12 October, 2016
A designer that once refabricated supercars is now channeling aluminium for auto-inspired furniture.
Fans of auto racing might know the names and backstories of top-performing drivers, the twists and turns of the tracks they race on, and the technical specifications of the cars they drive. Few people, however, ever see the names of racing designers. That is not the case, however, for Philip Caggiano, who is making quite a name for himself as he turns his passion toward furniture.

Caggiano designs chairs, sofas, and tables inspired by the racing industry he once worked in. After 25 years of creating and inventing, he has transferred his engineering and craftsmanship talents and launched a luxury furniture business for a high-end clientele that loves vintage cars as much as he does.
For example, both the Ferrari Daytona Coupe 1971 and the handcrafted Daytona Lounge Chair it inspires share a unique, iconic seat pattern. The $14,000 chair is built with custom Alcoa aluminium and whiskey brown leather upholstery, in a standard size – but there is nothing standard about Caggiano's work. The aluminium can be polished or brushed, or delivered in a preferred color. The textiles can be changed to accommodate client decisions, as can the dimensions. If you want a new, once-in-a-lifetime piece created, Caggiano will design one.
Caggiano, a sculptor, draws all of the furniture by hand before he finishes the design in digital modeling, and says that every final 3D rendition begins as an experiment that translates into a functional art piece.

Image: Philip Caggiano
The Spike Coffee Table, created for the unconventional free spirit of movie directors and music industry stars, creates a surface 1.3 meters long and 76 centimeters wide made entirely of aluminium spikes. The billet aluminium spikes are each turned on a lathe and then polished to a shine before dozens of them are placed in pointy rows atop a walnut platform. The table ends up being both edgy and elegant, and works well with the Xosted chair – made of stainless steel S304 exhaust pipes inspired by NASCAR.

A chaise inspired by the 1960s Bizzarrini GT Strada is upholstered and hand-sewn in Poltrano Frau Ferrari Nero black leather. "With sensual lines, and a hand polished mirror finish, this piece seems to capture the freedom and finesse of sun bleached shores and the curved silhouette of racing a vintage Italian car," explains the artist, who presents his pieces side-by-side with the vehicles they interpret.
Caggiano has always loved cars, perhaps none more than the 1970 Mustang Mach 1 he drives himself. It is there behind the wheel that some of the artist's best design ideas are born. When Caggiano tells his story on the company website, he does so without a single word. Visitors will just find a well-executed video of Caggiano driving in autumn, and the interplay of pattern and light that he breathes.
Image: Harley Lounge by Philip Caggiano
His commitment to process – cutting, machining, welding and finishing – is not something Caggiano wants to hide. The Caggiano brand is as much about the artist as the art, and he makes sure that fact is there for customers to see.

The Harley Lounge perhaps best captures the passion behind the process, all while paying homage to Caggiano hero Steve McQueen. The chair – which can also be delivered as a counter stool – is marketed to "those who have no master, who blur the edges and live to the fullest, who dream of fast cars, vintage Harleys, and believe that racing is life, anything before or after is just waiting."

The lounge chair takes its olive green from the British racing scene, and its leather from the Jaguar C. Like Caggiano himself, the Harley Lounge has a signature story. "Every inch of this sling chair was hand crafted," Caggiano says, "because when you believe in something, you fight like hell for it."
Banner image: Philip Caggiano