BALLARD & FANT by FORO Studio

Bookshops hosting bars, florists with restaurants, bike shops-cocktail bars and vintage stores that turn into clubs… the hybridization of commercial activities is undoubtedly a trend in the most avant-garde metropolises. Recently, Milan inaugurated its first beauty cocktail bar. In this fluid space, a beauty centre and a lounge area coexist to offer you some quality time with face and body treatments while enjoying a fresh cocktail.

Strongly linked to a strategic development of CMF – colours, materials and finishes – “Ballard & Fant” is the project signed by FORO Studio which sees the use of innovative FENIX surfaces within a pop-style environment. In this elegant and hybrid venue, unexpected combinations come to life: just as the attention to aesthetics marries the culture of beverage, similarly the bright primary colours are accompanied by FENIX’s chromatic intensity. The result is an intriguing harmony that arises from the contamination of styles and social realities. “Through CMF we want to create pervasive experiences that meet the expectations of users and stimulate their senses,” says Alessandro Pennisi, co-founder of FORO. 

Between electric blue glass, fiery red chairs and stools and yellow lamps, the choice of FENIX NTM Piombo Doha embodies apparently incompatible elements that instead reveal a perfect balance between opposites. Applied to the bar counter and the lounge tables, the ultra-matt surface, in fact, presents a touch of brightness thanks to the characteristic shimmering aspect of the Doha colours.

The visual and tactile comfort of contrasts is also experienced in the enhancement of products. 

“For the bar counter and tables of Ballard & Fant we chose FENIX thanks to its soft touch and matt look. To design the supporting surfaces for cocktails and cosmetics – often characterised by a glossy appeal – we acted by contrast. In this way we highlighted the perception of the cometic products, which are the focus within the beauty bar concept. The material’s opacity allowed us to enhance the "cocooned" mood of the space. With the exception of a few elements, we avoided the presence of shiny surfaces, because their reflections generate a certain visual noise that, in our opinion, is unsuitable for a place devoted to relaxation like Ballard & Fant.” 

The designers’ aim is to offer an “urban shelter” in which anyone, of any age and gender, can feel comfortable with themselves and with others. Moving away from a markedly feminine semiotic, typical of the design of beauty centres, the CMF study has allowed the creation of an inclusive space. Aesthetics, hedonism and conviviality are the pillars of Ballard & Fant. 

“We’ve known FENIX for long time, we admire it to the point that we also used it to cover the table in our meeting room. What we like most is its velvety touch, a property immediately noticed by our customers,” says Pennisi.