A motif may convey more than words can express. Across cultures, dress has long offered a visible means of communicating identity and belonging. Architectural surfaces carry a similar narrative potential. A single tile pattern can evoke the atmosphere of a room before it has been built, just as a tailored suit or a floral dress can form an immediate impression that deepens through encounter.
As clothing establishes identity, it also shapes the body. Walls and floors speak more quietly, yet they, too, influence how people feel and move through the everyday acts of walking, touching and leaning. At Fashion Gallery, the new Taipei showroom established by Marmo Taiwan and Twin Oaks Casa, the boundary between fashion and domestic space begins to soften. Materials are presented within settings shaped by light and furnishings, where they take on the warmth of lived spaces.
➤ From left to right | Stefano Socci, CEO of ABK Group; Mr Huang, general manager of MARMO Taiwan and Twin Oaks Casa; Mr Wang, CEO of Twin Oaks and Twin Oaks Casa; Eric Low, head of MML; and Dario Congera, general manager of Le Méridien Taipei Banqiao.
Curating Space Through the Body
The body responds to a space instinctively. Seated on a sculptural VERSACE HOME sofa, a visitor might notice light settling into an even sheen across the tiles, lending the room a warmth reminiscent of jade. Spanning nearly 1,980 square metres, the showroom unfolds like a carefully fashioned jewellery box, with distinct settings opening in different directions. A pattern on a pair of cups and plates suggests an elegant afternoon tea. Farther along the gallery, the sound of footsteps marks the passage into a vivid world of Italian design. Visitors need not identify whether a piece of furniture or a surface comes from VERSACE HOME, VERSACE CERAMICS, ABK or MML. Each setting offers an atmosphere to experience as a whole. From Hall and Villa to Plaza, Apartment, Mansion and Hotel, the spaces shift in scale and character, allowing the expression of each material to change with its surroundings.
A Personal Language for Living
Marmo Taiwan is the exclusive distributor of VERSACE CERAMICS in Taiwan, while Twin Oaks Casa represents VERSACE HOME. Bringing the two businesses together allows the showroom to move beyond the detached act of looking at a room and invite visitors to imagine living in one. A garment only becomes an expression of personal style when it is worn. Scent, light and circulation give each setting a more layered character, guiding visitors towards an intuitive sense of its atmosphere. Digital tools and the interactive material selection platform ROOMVO offer a further way to visualise how tiles might look once installed. Looking gives way to touch, then to the recognition of a way of living that feels one’s own. Through this gradual process, the relationship between person and space becomes more tangible, and the home becomes a means of self-expression.
Luxury in Everyday Life
Following the opening of their Kaohsiung showroom last year, Marmo Taiwan and Twin Oaks Casa have established a second location in Taipei. The two spaces reflect a development shaped over three decades: from the supply of surface materials towards a more encompassing approach to interior design. ABK brings the depth of Italian ceramic craftsmanship, while MML’s experience in international markets has informed the group’s longstanding work with architectural materials. Its collaboration with VERSACE HOME and VERSACE CERAMICS opens up further possibilities for ceramics beyond their use as finishes: as a way to read a space and to begin a conversation across design and art.
Whether attention rests on a ceramic cup held in the hand or extends across an entire floor, a material reveals only one aspect of domestic life. A fuller picture of home emerges through movement, use and moments of pause; through the presence of light and the objects gathered within a room. In the textures and gentle lustre that become more apparent over time, luxury finds its place in the experience of living.
