On the table, the remains of your dinner: chipped ceramic plates edged with gold, crystal glasses from mismatched sets, tarnished silver cutlery.
You always set the table neatly, even though there’s no need.

You get up to look outside, the parquet floor creaking under your feet. You see a figure walking slowly, so far away it’s almost indistinguishable, wearing a long camel colored coat, carrying a bag, the hair glowing in the darkness.

Editorial

by Andrea Batilia

Decorativism, the artistic expression created through the use of visible signs on surfaces, has threaded through the twentieth century like a glitch in the system, an error modernism, rationalism, and minimalism have tried to eliminate or minimize. But the habit of recognizing objects through their surfaces remains strong, even if often removed from an academic theory that is considering it superficial by its very nature.
Sōdai’s world is culturally aligned with decorativism and instead of toning it down, the brand highlights it, filling it with historical references, memories, life fragrances and emotional depth.

Inspired by the work of Italian design geniuses who embed deep, sometimes disturbing stories onto smooth surfaces, Sōdai reinvents elements of bourgeois good taste with an irreverent, Buñuelian, subtly nihilistic spirit, using the technique of artifice. The environments Sōdai delves into are elegant and sophisticated, yet strongly retro without any hint of nostalgia.

It is an intellectually complex endeavor that requires keen attention to the techniques used to bring objects to life and imbue them with value. But it is also an unexpected act of love for the past, an inexhaustible source of inspiration, building bridges not for indiscriminate use but to relive the past, to once again experience its scents and flavors, to savor its depth. Sōdai is a grand collector of ideas, a laboratory where the excellence of craftsmanship meets the ever evolving landscape of technological innovation.
It is a multi-material container that explores the chromatic complexities of surfaces and their origins, redefining the very concept of luxury and authentic desire.