When last we profiled work by Antwerp's Royal Botania, the lilacs were in full flush, the cool breezes of spring were yet to give way to the stifling sun of summer, and a full four months of fair weather lay ahead. At last June's ICFF, the company welcomed the warm season with the fiery hot orange fabric and solid stainless steel of the QT Lounger. This week, they're closing the summer with a glimpse of the D-Lux range of chaise lounges, tables, and dining chairs. As you may have inferred from the name, Royal Botania aims high, aspiring towards no less than creating a "supreme royal class" brand of furniture. The D-Lux line hits this high note indeed, though the tenor of the collection is more industrial than palatial, more about millennial innovation than old school classicism.

D-Lux. Designed by Royal Botania.

Even so, something about D-Lux's lines reminds me of the dawn of the Modern. The outdoor furnishings wear their structure on their sleeve, so to speak. Each piece is created from cut and formed aluminum sheets, giving the whole an aerodynamic aesthetic that evokes supersonic jets as well as high powered muscle cars. In fact, the central panel of the D-Lux lounge in cherry red looks as if it could have been re-purposed from a '66 Pontiac GTO as readily as a cold war era Mig-17. Perhaps this aesthetic versatility owes a debt to the Bauhaus, because, in the way they lay claim to a definitive aesthetic that's free from adornment, both lounge and chairs are a testament to the "form is function" credo.

Royal Botania likens these intriguing forms to a feminine archetype-"achieving purity in design, working with female curves, and convex or concave surfaces." The sculptural silhouettes of D-Lux are curvaceous and elegant, but just a bit rough around the edges as well. I can't say if that intriguing synergy detracts from or adds to their "feminine" quality, but I can say that I like it, that it's got me lamenting the close of summer and hoping for an early spring.