Where The House Remembers The Soul– Armando Cabral and USM Furniture Collection
Traditional West African design symbolizes rhythm, flexibility, and the quiet dignity of space.
Words by Kyme McCray | 2 Minute Read
USM x ARMANDO CABRAL
Some collaborations are not born from business. They rise from memory. From the unspoken inheritance of what it means to belong. In that spirit, Armando Cabral joined USM, the Swiss furniture brand, to create not simply furniture but also a kind of language–a language spoken through form, rhythm, and the quiet dignity of space.
They named it NKYINKYIM. The word comes from the Adinkra tradition and speaks of motion, change, and the long and bending road we walk toward becoming. This collection follows that path. Each piece is a step forward, each design a breath drawn from the past.
USM x ARMANDO CABRAL
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USM x ARMANDO CABRAL
The collection was first shown during New York Fashion Week, yet it did not arrive as a performance. It entered like a memory. The installation looked like a home. There was a bookshelf that stood like a question. A platform bed that felt familiar even if you had never touched it before. Chairs that waited without rushing. A table that seemed to hold silence and intention.
These are not just objects. They are vessels. They carry story, ancestry, and craft. They are modern, yes, but their purpose is older. Modular design becomes more than a system. It becomes a reminder that every element in life belongs to something greater. Cabral sees this clearly. Each piece mirrors the community. The shape may change, but the essence stays rooted.
USM x ARMANDO CABRAL
Cabral’s own life has taken many shapes. He was born in Guinea-Bissau and raised in Portugal. His face graced campaigns across the world. But beyond the flash of fashion, he was always building something slower. He shaped his namesake brand with care. First shoes, then clothing, fragrance and now, the home.
In 2022, he opened his first store at Rockefeller Center. That space marked the beginning of a new chapter. He named it a Casa - a home, not just for objects, but for stories, for culture, for a design that remembers its people.
This work is about how we live, not just what we own, but what we carry, what we return to.
– Armando Cabral. Male Supermodel and Founder of Armando Cabral.
With collaborators like Rruka, Fefo Studio, Amalia Home Collection, and Nordic Knots, the vision expands. It becomes less about style and more about meaning. The exhibition invites you to live with intention. To understand beauty as something that holds weight. Something that listens.
In the end, the house becomes more than a shelter. It becomes a witness. It holds the lives we build, the dreams we protect, and the histories we refuse to forget. See USM and Armando Cabral’s NKYINKYIM collection in the gallery above and shop the collection now on Armando Cabral webshop.
Product Detail
Brand: USM x Armando Cabral
Model: MANJAK Lounge Chair
Color: Olive Green ( Available in 14 USM colorways)
SKU: N/A
Price: $6,042 USD
Where to Buy: USM
Product Detail
Brand: USM x Armando Cabral
Model: ARKAD Side Table
Color: Brown ( Available in 14 USM colorways)
SKU: N/A
Price: $2,153 USD
Where to Buy: USM
Product Detail
Brand: USM x Armando Cabral
Model: MANJAK Lounge Chair
Color: Graphite Black ( Available in 14 USM colorways)
SKU: N/A
Price: 17,462 USD
Where to Buy: USM
Product Detail
Brand: USM x Armando Cabral
Model: MANSA Asymmetrical Platform Bed
Color: True Orange ( Available in 14 USM colorways)
SKU: N/A
Price: $21,287 USD
Where to Buy: USM
Kyme X. McCray-Robinson
Style & Living Editor, Frasspot
Kyme McCray is a style editor for Frasspot. He oversees fashion and lifestyle content across Frasspot and has contributed as a style editor since May 2025.
May 09, 2025
Source: USM
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