When we last checked in with LATOxLATO, the work-and-life partners Francesco Breganze and Virginia Valentini were on the heels of launching their debut collection of handmade arch-shaped vases that channel metaphysical perspectives of Rationalist and Renaissance architecture. Fast forward a few years, and the two designers are now reinventing the wall covering with dimensional patterns that reveal how architectural motifs can manifest in unexpected places. The duo’s four new additions to Italian brand Inkiostro Bianco’s Flow collection envelop interiors with dream-like patterns that serve as ethereal portals to the backdrops of animated films and video games.
Archscape and Metropolis evoke Escher-like urban settings from distant perspectives—or perhaps the comfort of one’s own home—by projecting volumes, stairs, windows, lights, and shadows onto the walls of buildings, creating a dazzling chiaroscuro effect. Bossage and Coffer Mania, meanwhile, evoke memories of strolling through city streets, with multiple suns peeking out from behind walls of square bricks. “It’s as if we’ve been able to paint our vision on a blank canvas,” Valentini and Breganze say, noting how the collection reinterprets the trompe l’oeil represented in buildings throughout history. “On whatever scale we work, from the building to the furniture and now the wallpaper, we love to combine the architectural sign with a metaphysical atmosphere.”
