Julio Torres makes design debut with "coming to New York" collection for Sabai
Actor Julio Torres worked with US furniture company Sabai to create a collection of furniture informed by the act of moving to New York City, including a screen with a curtain motif pulled from JFK Terminal 4.
The All Other Passports collection marks Torres' first foray into design, though the actor and director is known for a graphic and playful personal style in dress and decoration, seen throughout his appearances in television shows, films and a play.
Torres and Sabai founder Phantila Phataraprasit immigrated to the US from El Salvador and Thailand, respectively, which created a jumping-off point for the collection.
In total, it features four objects that recall the "passing of the torch" to newcomers to the city, when you have just enough space in your apartment to start hosting others who need a place to crash.
"We very organically landed on this idea of coming to New York for the first time, and the memory of that," Torres told Dezeen. "And then having the collection be like a passing of the torch – now you are the host and now you welcome other people."
"I have fond memories of the couch I crashed when I first came here, and I feel like being able to offer that to someone is really, really exciting."
The collection's largest piece is the Landing Daybed, an ode to the couch for visitors. Its stainless-steel arched base calls to the bridges that lead to Manhattan, and it's topped with slim pillows.
The daybed comes in a variety of fabrics, as the All Other Passports collection is made-to-order, but the version shown at New York's design week was a light blue, with checkered cylindrical cushions that serve as an abbreviated backrest.
The other pillow in the collection, which was designed to be a floor cushion or additional cushion for the daybed, is oversized, square and striped. It also contains a strap, so that it can be thrown over the shoulder and carried, or stacked into a pile with other pillows.
The Arrivals Screen was also made with stainless steel, although it is highly polished and reflective, so it can double as a mirror.
It is fronted by a wood motif that references Harry Roseman's Curtain Wall installation at JFK's international arrivals terminal, which is made of gypsum curtains affixed to a long hallway leading to customs.
There is also a series of pegs to hang items on the backside.
"I love the idea of a screen, because it's basically a huge canvas to design something, but also has the versatility of dividing a room, if someone's visiting," said Torres.
The Personal Items side table is inlaid with a variety of objects that one throws onto a catch-all space after a day of travel. The objects, such as a fork, a key and an actively spilling coffee cup, are stretched and distorted to create a wooden, marbled surface.
"It's a tribute to the feeling you have of landing after a long trip and emptying your pockets and trying to assess what's important and what's not important," said Torres of the side table. "Like – what can I throw out? What would I go to jail for if I throw out?"
The collection also includes metal charms styled like the motifs on the wooden table that can be affixed or pinned to the various objects.
Torres and Phataraprasit told Dezeen the collection pushed them into new territory. Phataraprasit, who primarily focuses on producing sustainable seating, said she brought stainless steel in as a new material to produce and manufacture the collection.
Torres, who watched his mom make the furniture in his house growing up and applies a similar DIY design approach to his sets, said it was different from designing a commercial piece because it needed to be usable.
"I have production designers who design furniture for the apartments in shows," he said. "And I want to keep some pieces because they're so great. But they're like – 'okay but you can't really sit on it, because it's made for camera'."
"So, yeah, it made me think, can people actually sit on this?"
Other furniture and objects shown at this year's New York City design week include eleven commercial launches and a chair that will be manufactured by SOM and Ikonstudio.
The photography is by James Emmerman courtesy of Julio Torres x Sabai.
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