Italian luxury label is the latest to incorporate edgy eco and sustainable design furniture into its retail space. Cardboard is becoming the new cashmere in premium eco furniture design, and the recent incorporation of Italian architect Giorgio Caporaso’s iconic cardboard creations in Cinzia Rocca’s luxurious fashion store is testimony to the humble material’s ever-growing popularity in premium commercial spaces. The sinuous, elegant form of Caporaso’s modular designs provide a complementary backdrop against which Cinzia Rocca’s elegant Italian-style ready-to-wear lines are displayed – from handcrafted garments and accessories to exceptional outerwear and tailoring. The store exudes sophistication and an understated effortless glamour reflected in the fashion as well as the fittings and furniture supplied by luxury eco and sustainable design retailer E-Side. The store’s display window gives way to the sleek curves of Caporaso’s X2 chaise longue, the ultimate piece of furniture for elegant slumming (and used here in Cinzia Rocca’s store to create a striking visual feature within the shop window). Crafted entirely from 100% cardboard and FSC wood, this iconic chair is defined by a continuum of smooth clean lines.

With removable external side panels, the chaise longue has interchangeable finishes of teak, oak or printed cardboard so it can adapt to complement the changing look of seasonal fashion lines. The chaise longue can also be flipped over and used as a chair with a high backrest. Shelving becomes more than just a functional necessity in retail spaces; it can be transformed into a feature in its own right.Caporaso’s ‘More Light’ modular shelving system adds visual richness through its palpable honeycombed texture, emphasised to even great measures by its contrasting hard candy lacquered façade. Like the X2 chair, the modular shelves’ exterior is interchangeable so that the overall look can be switched according to seasons, trends and complementary colour palettes – ideal for the ever-changing retail space – while structurally, each simple modular cube can be built up and arranged to create individual, complex and visually striking structures upon which to showcase merchandise.

Extending the modular theme throughout the store, Caporaso’s simple and versatile ‘More Coat Hangar’ showcases the fashion label’s key pieces, creating an important focal point within the centre of the retail space. Like other pieces from Caporaso’s More range, it is eco and sustainably built. The body is made from cardboard with a choice of external finishes including smooth and elegant lacquered MDF or wood (oak and teak available). Further modules can be added to the lower part of the rack to create drawers in which to store smaller fashion accessories. The bar within the rack used to hang clothes is made from plywood and reinforced with metal. The rack is mounted on small wheels for easy manoeuvrability. You can also customise the rack with a full-length mirror on the side, as well as a satin steel handle for convenient portability. Alessia Civettini, founder and design hunter of luxury eco and sustainable furnishings retailer E-Side comments: “Rejuvenating the image of eco and sustainable design from its ‘hippy’ affiliations is an ongoing process, but with designers like Caporaso at the helm of this quiet revolution, humble materials like cardboard are fast becoming an important element in iconic and luxurious modern furniture design. As well as its very unusual and unique aesthetic, such sustainably made and ‘low toxic’ eco designs are becoming the choice of a lot of forward-thinking companies and brands who want eye-catching, standout pieces that have the look, the green credentials and the versatility.”