This unique sofa was installed in the airport departure hall to promote the opening of the Milan design fair on 5 April 2006. The idea was to give a final taste of design and inspiration to the many fair guests as they prepared to fly back home.

Bombay Sapphire Stretch is a product of the fertile imagination of renowned designer Tom Dixon, who was anxious to see the travellers' immediate and concrete reactions to this new concept in furniture design.

And it was a highly positive reaction. People used the sofa for relaxing, chatting and reading as they waited for their flights. It had an exciting, lively effect on people as they sat in all directions on the sofa, which winds its way through the departure hall.

Tom Dixon worked closely with Gabriel on the fabric for this mega-couch. The result is the jaquard-woven fabric, Link Plain, a patterned material in which both pattern and background express the blue nuances of Bombay Sapphire.

The teamwork between Tom Dixon and Gabriel on Link Plain has been so positive that we're now working further with the Link concept on a design in which the pattern and background have bright, contrasting colour combinations.

The sofa was designed and developed by Tom Dixon together with the British gin distiller, Bombay Sapphire, who, through the Bombay Sapphire Foundation, supports and encourages both recognised and up-and-coming designers from around the world.