Italian Furniture
Since the second half of the 20th century, Italy has become an international reference in the furniture industry. The country is known for being captivating and seductive. Be it in architecture, fashion, or the arts, Italian designers have always shown an extraordinary imagination. Rich in their many influences, passionate and audacious, they have often brought out creations with avant-garde lines that have inspired the entire world.
History of Italian Furniture
Italy has been contributing to the history of design for over 70 years through its production of furniture and accessories. Italian manufacturers are keeping the ancestral know-how intact. This doesn’t stop them from coupling it with the latest technological innovations. The result? Italian furniture with the highest possible quality. The care given to detail ensures a unique piece of furniture every time.
The Italian vintage period was prolific, abundant, and varied in its approaches. These are in fact the adjectives most often used to characterize Italian design. It's impossible to summarize it properly because of the diversity of the forms it took.
Italy - the land of creativity and boldness
Italian designers have always known how to exploit their talent to offer high-quality creations. Whether in fashion, architecture or in Arts, they are always at the top! From Michelangelo to Versace, all personalities have left an indelible mark on their time. Each designer has offered creations that are recognized in their field. The history of design in Italy is multi-disciplinary.
The end of the war created a period even more conducive to creation and renewal. The Avant-Garde groups were born in the four corners of the famous Italian boot. Among them are Archizoom, Umberto Eco, or Joe Colombo. They seek to revolutionize the codes, but also to erase the remnants of the terrible days of the past.
The world’s leading design nation
The luxury furniture industry was able to take advantage of this hype to give birth to the projects of many young designers. The success is such that they still manufacture some of these pieces of furniture today. These creators have allowed the blossoming of new generations of Italian designers. Italian sons and daughters are perpetuating the spirit of innovation of their elders.
Today, Italy alone symbolizes Design. The country of Leonardo da Vinci has become a reference point, as evidenced by its famous Milan Furniture Fair. This event is the place to discover the latest news and innovations in the furniture industry. It brings together the best designer furniture pieces the world has to offer.
The greatest labels of design furniture are Italian
Among the many luxury Italian furniture brands that are offered on Modern Resale, all contribute to writing the most beautiful pages of the history of design. These internationally renowned brands have joined forces with renowned designers. Together, they push back the boundaries of creativity and design exceptional furniture
Italian design is interdisciplinary and transgressive. It translates into elaborate and innovative forms. They express the overflowing imagination of designers. Reflection on materials and intended functions is also pushed to the limit with Italian design. The goal is to go beyond functional limits and create products that can’t be found elsewhere.
An art handed down from generation to generation
Carried by the heritage of their ancestors, the younger generations continue to innovate through the use of new technologies or new materials. The Italian brands thus perpetuate the tradition of the founders, whose goal was to break new ground. By opening up to the world through collaborations with international designers, some of them do not hesitate to intertwine Italian know-how with that of other countries to design ever more singular creations. This multicultural approach enriches the creative possibilities and anchors Italian design further abroad.
A variety of styles
At the end of the Second World War and until the 1950s, the need to write a new chapter in history and to break with the past became clear. Italian designers embodied this need for renewal that took hold of European Furniture. However, they did not all follow the same direction. The personal initiative and the singularity of the designer’s identity were reinforced by the entrepreneurial structures. Because most of them were small in size, they carried within them the need to stand out and to be recognized.
The collaboration of architects and designers with various manufacturers will contribute to the variety of styles that will mark the history of Italian design and its furniture from an early stage.
- Aesthetic explorations are many
- The materials chosen are incredibly varied
- Production is streamlined while the style remains fanciful
- Beyond all these paths of singularity is the search for uniqueness
The innovative features of Italian Design
Raphaëlla Riboud, co-director of the Italian Gallery in Paris, defines European Furniture by saying that “The French have elegance, the Germans have rigor and the Italians have fantasy”. Indeed, Italian designers like Capellini are daring. Through their creations, they express their emotions, their vitality, and their singularity. You can feel it in the Made in Italy furniture whose curves can be round and sensual as well as graphic and pure.
Depending on the inspiration, the design is combined with explosive colors for Italian furniture that will blow your mind or will be pure and minimalist for a chic and very contemporary atmosphere. The time has come for a mix of styles that results in ever more original creations. Modular and multi-function furniture is an excellent example of this.
Standardization of luxury furniture production
The multiplicity of styles is a characteristic of Italian designer furniture. Yet, a group of designers emerged at the end of the 1960s. The designers started denouncing the uniqueness of style within the standardization of industrialized furniture production. They were against industrialization itself. They defined it as the objectification of style, and even good taste, to the very roots of functionalism.
This was radical Italian furniture design. Italian furniture expressed its criticism of conformism in art and architecture through a counter-current production. Designers were often reflecting on themes such as utopia or infinity.
The Pratone armchair is an evocative example. It was created in the early 1970s by Italian designers Giorgio Ceretti, Pietro Derossi, and Riccardo Rosso. It uses polyurethane foam. Its structure features a tuft of grass into which the user can freely sink. The questioning of functionalism is explicit here. This chair represents a clump of green grass before the chair itself. Its function is not induced by its shape, nor is its beauty.
The exceptional quality of Italian luxury furniture
What makes the reputation of Italian furniture beyond the creative process is the top quality of their realization. Among furniture manufacturers, tradition rhymes with innovation. Many family-owned companies have been able to preserve the long tradition of artisanal manufacturing by combining it with technological innovations. Today, these manufacturers can offer furniture whose design combines comfort and functionality. This is all thanks to the heritage of excellent skills and proven elements such as:
- The hand-to-hand work between designers and manufacturers
- The technical precision
- The attention to detail
- The realization of partly hand-made pieces
These are a true guarantee of quality that contributes to the influence of Made in Italy furniture.
Not to mention the wide variety of materials offered by the furniture companies of the land of Dante. Manufacturers select innovative coverings to offer even greater comfort. They have a very wide range of colors to personalize the products almost endlessly!
From classic series to exclusive pieces
In terms of design, Italy seems to have transitioned from the quest for rationality to the ambition to give the public a personalized creation. The first is linked to the need for industrial mass production. The second comprises unique elements, as would be the case if production were artisanal.
Vinicio Vianello’s work embodies this dichotomy. The glass vases that he produces in series are asymmetrical and far from perfect shapes. They inevitably give the impression of craftsmanship, made up of unique pieces bearing the imprint of a hand.
Gaetano Pesce embodies this preoccupation as well. He finds the materials and shapes so that standardized production allows the generation of unique pieces. The famous Candelabra candleholders he designs are made of polyurethane resin. This material is very dear to him and takes on a unique shape as it freezes. The process that gives rise to each of the models is standardized. Yet, the object from this series is unique.
In 1969, Gaetano Pesce also produced the Donna Up Chair. It is an anthropomorphic armchair. It evokes a fertility goddess into whose bosom the seated body is inserted. Here again, this mass-produced chair remains no less unique. It unfolds through a performance orchestrated by the designer. Indeed, the chair is transported in the form of a package within which it is compressed. When opened, it unfolds before the eyes of the buyer under the effect of the expansion of the cells that make it up. They were designed to fill with air. This performance seems to be performed solely for the buyer. It is an integral part of the object and contributes to its uniqueness.
Italian luminaires: excellence at the service of light
The production of Italian designers in the field of lighting is also abundant. It is impossible to summarize their work here, as the paths explored are so different. We will give names and three examples of the variety of their creativity.
The Arco lamp heralds the reign of Italy in light and interior lighting. Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni created it in 1962. It is both structural, functional:
- Unusual dimensions
- Use of beautiful Carrara marble
- Steel of the structure
- Aluminum of the lampshade
It captures attention as much as it diffuses light and is a central element in the composition of an interior design.
The Eclisse lamp is also a milestone in the history of lighting design. It is designed by Vico Magistretti and published by Artemide at the end of the 1960s. The use of warm colors, varnished metal, as well as moving parts allow the modulation of the light. Its orientation creates an eclipse effect that can be created when the pivoting half-sphere well obliterates the light diffused by the bulb within its spherical structure is particularly innovative.
In a completely unique style, Sergio Asti’s Daruma lamp was created in 1968, out of blown glass. Timeless, sober, and anthropomorphic. It became part of the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Its silhouette explicitly evokes Japanese dolls. It once again testifies to the inventiveness of Italian design in terms of modern furniture.
Italian designer furniture meets all needs and desires
Italian furniture designers play with shapes, materials, and colors to create unique pieces at the cutting edge of the trend. They offer inimitable furniture creations that have made the reputation of Italian design.
Working on the aesthetic does not mean forgetting the practical. The watchword of classical luxury Italian furniture is to create objects that are both beautiful and useful. For this reason, designers are also interested in the needs of our times.
Modular or transformable Italian furniture is a perfect example of this, since space is a major issue in the 21st century. Even small spaces can be furnished with care. When choosing Modern Resale quality furniture, you’ll have a fashionable interior whatever your needs may be.
Looking for striped marble furniture or cantilever chairs? Or maybe a minimalist table or comfortable sofa? All types of tastes are met by Modern Resale’s superior furniture. No customer will leave unsatisfied.
Modern Resale’s Italian Furniture Collection - Contact us
Modernity, freedom, originality, and quality from the best craftsmanship. These are the hallmarks of Italian design. Looking for an Italian furniture company? You’re in the right place! Modern Resale has a special approach to furniture. The company offers only quality products, designs, and furnishings. A talented team has selected the best of European furniture and accessories for you. Among the available Italian furniture collections and brands that you can choose from are:
Do you have a crush on this inimitable decor style? We invite you to visit our website and shop for your favorite Italian furniture brands! Contact us for any special inquiry and we will get back to you with pleasure.