Outdoor Living: The magic of MONSIEUR TRICOT

Outdoor lighting can enhance that intimate atmosphere and create a mood that helps us to relax, and now that spring has arrived and the weather is warming up, it is a perfect time to start rethinking our outdoor entertaining areas.

The Monsieur Tricot outdoor lighting designed by Ilia Eckhardt for Tribù, is a stunning collection that casts magical shadows and projects a soft glow that adds warmth to your outdoor space. Tribù recently caught up with the Belgian designer to learn more about the hand-crocheted lantern collection that merges traditional techniques, with high-performance materials and modern technology.

Ilia how did you develop a passion for knitting?

“I grew up in our family-owned knitting studio Atelier Tricot led by my mother Hilde Frunt, where knitting and creativity is our day to day business. Already as a child I was obsessed with this craftmanship. I even helped my mother out from time to time, knotting some threads or folding fabrics. It felt totally normal to live surrounded by the designs of Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester and Walter Van Beirendonck.. Although I actually studied advertising, I turned to the craft of knitting eventually. I was hugely inspired by the works of both my mother and Ludo Cousy, an industrial knitter. I haven’t regretted it for one second.”

You describe your work as ‘Contemporary Craftmanship’.

“We actually combine a very authentic technique, the crocheting and knitting, with modern and technical yarns. The crocheting is done with a very big needle with which we manually pull the cord through a loop to create new loops which, in the end, is creating a seamless cover. The knitting is done on a knitting machine with hand finishing to be able to influence the structure where needed. To get to this final result, it took us years of experimenting with the technical cord. The cord itself is made of polypropylene which is weather resistant. It can withstand UV rays and high and low temperatures. The globe, made of PMMA (a transparent thermoplastic often used as a glass substitute) is also weather resistant".

How did you come up with this particular Monsieur Tricot collection?

“Since family life is both at the core of my personal as well of my professional life, I decided to create a family of lamps. Each of the different rich structures stands for a personality: Monsieur Lebonnet’s open, chunky structure stands for the father figure, the refined, finer Madame Cachet structure stands for the mother, etc. It is the project I am most proud of in my career. With Tribù I have found the perfect match for this authentic mood-setter.”

It is indeed a collection that brings a very special ambiance to the outdoor experience. How can you enhance that effect?

“The floor lamps for example are battery powered so they can easily be moved around determining the atmosphere where it is needed. There is a possibility to dim the lighting with an app, which makes it even more convenient to create a specific mood. And then there is the warm light, of course, reflected by the knitting structures. That creates a more intense experience, inspired by sophisticated candlelight.

This collection of distinctive knitted and hand-crocheted outdoor lighting will immediately add intimacy, layers and mood to your outdoor setting when entertaining on those long summer nights. Not only are they made from high-performing outdoor materials they are also convenient to operate with the user-friendly Tribù Monsieur Tricot app, downloadable from the Apple Store or Google Play.

Explore The Monsieur Tricot lighting collection now, exclusive to Cosh Living.

Original interview as seen on the Tribù website