Part ideas factory, part fashion experiment, the Dada Meeting Point feels like an atelier in hyperdrive, a showcase of different designs that is forever “provisional” – displays have a life-span of exactly 45 days – or as founder and creative director Jamil Dada explains, “like works in progess”, the space is continually re-fashioned and re-arranged in conjunction with buyer, Licia Bonesi. “I like to mix fabrics, shapes, sounds and shapes,” he continues. “I’ve always thrived on the countersense of things and there are no rules or themes we follow.”
In essence, what Dada has created with his unconstrained, cleverly curated collections is a total sensual experience (in all meanings of that word). To walk into one of his spaces, be it in the pretty Italian lakeside town of Salò, the bustling seaport of Ningbo in eastern China or his latest in fashionable Milan is to be assaulted by a burst of colours, smells and styles.
The Milan space, all vaulted ceilings and exposed brick walls, has a decidedly industrial feel. Filled with surprising discoveries, it’s more like a treasure hunt than a shopping experience and promotes the latest trends and young creator/designers from all over the world. It’s the kind of place you’ll find things like leather backpacks dipped in wine, black, withered Christmas trees, distorted face lamps, egg-shaped suspended speakers and music compilations by the likes of ECM’s own Manfred Eicher. It’s all so exquisitely thought out that even the fire extinguishers are limited editions.
Maybe it’s because he’s from a family of artists and architects and has lived all over the world. Maybe it’s because he grew up around stylish people. Whatever the reason, as an entrepreneur, Dada’s eye for refinement and creative solutions dominates.
Admittedly, when he started out, his path was more traditional. After leaving Beirut in 1978, Dada opened a clothing factory in China in the 1980s - he still spends more than half the year there – before eventually deciding to settle in Italy. There, Dada became the agent for all the high-end Italian brands we know and love in the Middle East, representing the likes of Armani, Valentino and Versace, amongst others. No more. These days, he’s all about emerging designers, young unknowns. “Personally, I’m no longer interested in the big brands,” he explains. “Milan is the centre of fashion, but it bores me when I go to a party and see all the women carrying the same branded handbags.” Mr. Dada, we know exactly what you mean.
