It was sun, sand and tropical cocktails for the launch of the Coast 'Off The Hook' range at Urbis Design Day on the 28th of March. The event, which blends fashion and design in showrooms across Auckland, showcased a varied mix of styles with some fashion designers choosing to add to the showrooms and product, others to flagrantly ignore or challenge their setting. Those who went for content-appropriate installations included Crane Brothers' tailor's area in Apartmento and Huffer's cheeky fish motifs in Poggenpohl. More incongruous was Lonely Heart's 80's-motorcross hay area in Design Denmark, and Jaeha's gothic mannequins in Inovo bath store.

Coast's approach to the theme was probably the most subtle of the day. Coast's Victoria Park showroom was transformed by Emma Kate Bamford into an island paradise with a distinct 'kiwi bach' feel. The new 'Off The Hook' range took pride of place in the show, with the large crowd of attendees making full use of the Cayo furniture and 42 Below supplied 'Coast Island Cocktails'.

'Off The Hook' is the result of several months' collaboration with Locus Research and includes a deckchair, throw cushion and foldable mat which are designed to hang on the freestanding easel. The products have been designed to fill the niche between Coast's current soft and hard furniture ranges, creating a compact and user friendly collection with the specific notion of defining space for the individual user. The existing Cayo collection has also been given attention by Locus Research, enhancing product durability, ease of assembly, and streamlining the range for production. The revamped Cayo premiered in the VIP Lounge of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series and both ranges are to be exhibited at Melbourne's DesignEx expo at the beginning of May.