FUTURE SHOWCASE

Patricia Urquiola upholds a more socially and environmentally conscious approach for Cassina.

BY ELAINE RAFFEL

For almost a century, Italian luxury brand Cassina has been designing the future of interiors.

Credit a pioneering attitude combined with a commitment to research and innovation. That sort of forward thinking comes naturally to company art director and architect/designer Patricia Urquiola, who joined Cassina just shy of its 90th birthday. “When you become 90 years old, you have to decide whether you want to rebegin and get a new youth or you want to take all your past with you,” she says.

Today, Urquiola and Cassina CEO Luca Fuso are leading the company down an exciting path that includes major expansion into the US market. Following a splashy launch at this year’s Miami Art and Design Week in December, the pair were in Dallas to open a 2,100-square-foot space inside Scott + Cooner’s showroom. The result is a covetable assortment of the brand’s furniture, carpeting, art, and décor. “For seven years this has been an evolving concept,” says Urquiola. “From the beginning there have been very interesting dialogues. Working with Luca and the whole team was a collaborative effort; there was a lot of interaction. We believe in this kind of continuous accumulation of energy.”

Merging the best of all worlds, The Cassina Perspective showcases a curated mix of new products and iconic pieces from both the masters and up-and-coming designers—eclectic yet complementary, historically significant but unequivocally forward thinking. “I think a company with as long a story as Cassina you want to drive in different ways. A lot of points of view get crossed,” says Urquiola.

Consider, for instance, a swoon-worthy Philippe Starckdesigned bed. More than a supremely stylish piece of furniture, the headboard can be fitted for reading lamps, sound-absorbing panels help reduce noise, and a purifying fabric encourages the natural circulation of air. As Cassina continues to renew its commitment to a more socially and environmentally conscious approach, Urquiola says seeking out new materials is essential. “For me, it’s regenerated, upcycled materials that have beautiful comfort, and there are many new ways to do this.”

Other A-list designers and architects who have joined forces with Cassina include Gio Ponti, Vico Magistretti, Gaetano Pesce, Piero Lissoni, Tobia Scarpa, and Mario Bellini. “You have to always be open to new partnerships—not just in design but in production and other areas. It’s about real conversations and the serendipity that comes with working with different teams. Then, in the end, things work,” says Urquiola. P

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May 3, 2023 | 12:00 PM

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