Poltrona Frau

Above, the Kyoto table, designed by Gianfranco Frattini, 2020. Middle, chaise longue by Poltrona Frau in the master stateroom of a Pershing 9X. Bottom, leather Get Back sofa by Ludovica and Roberto Palomba, 2019. Right, Times Lounge, Spalvieri & del Ciotto, 2020

It has been furnishing the world’s most beautiful homes, hotels, theatres and yachts with inimitable elegance for over a century. Its collections span the work of high profile contemporary designers and reissues of historic pieces that meld tradition with the challenges and requirements of modern life. But research is always the byword

Founded in Turin in 1912 by Renzo Frau, Poltrona Frau celebrates 110 years in business next year. This a major milestone as very few Italian companies are so long-lived. An enduring star of the Italian furniture scene, the Ponti, Pierluigi Cerri, Marco Zanuso, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, Jean-Marie Massaud and Roberto Lazzeroni have all left their mark on the brand’s products over the decades. Now making home, office, yacht and contract furnishings, Poltrona Frau channels its creative company is now part of the leading American Haworth Group but thrust into three divisions: Residential, Interiors in Motion and Cuhas never lost its original identity or core values. This is particularly stom Interiors. Residential launches new yearly collections desigthe case of the company’s thirst to invent new forms, construction ned by leading contemporary designers as well as reissuing historic solutions and design languages. Its great strengths are its timeless pieces, often for the first time and sometimes by long forgotten or models which exude a universal elegance, marrying tradition with unknown designers. It also uses wood, fabric and metal addition the challenges and requirements of contemporary living. Research to its signature leather. Interiors in Motion was opened in1984 to is the byword and has been since the days when Renzo Frau was create yacht interiors and also to work with car marques, such as designing the iconic likes of the Vanity Fair armchair. Even then, the Ferrari. It also does aircrafts, trains and helicopters. But when you company was furnishing theatres, private homes and, in the 1930s, find yourself sitting in a soft comfortable seat in a theatre, museum, legendary transatlantic liners such as the Rex. Poltrona Frau was hotel showroom, airport lounge, customs office, restaurant or gobought in 1962 by Nazareno Gabrielli, who moved its headquarters vernment office, there is a very good chance your chair is the work to Tolentino, where its factories and offices remain today. Its 100,000 of the Custom Interiors division which also creates bespoke designs sqm production facility boasts a photovoltaic system that has ma- for yacht and boat interiors. Poltrona Frau’s prestige international de it energy self-sufficient, in fact. In 2004, it was acquired by the commissions include the European Parliament in Strasbourg desiCharme Group owned by the Montezemolo family and became the gned by the AS Architecture Studio, the Walt Disney Concert Hall Poltrona Frau Group with Cappellini and Cassina. Its own Michele in Los Angeles by Frank O. Gehry, and Odile Decq’s Macro Museum De Lucchi-designed museum opened in 2012 and now tells the in Rome. Poltrona Frau works closely with high profile yards of the story of the various phases of the company’s development through calibre of Ferretti, Cigarette, Sanlorenzo and Benetti. It retains its historic documents, designs, advertisements draw by famous illu- strong artisanal identity supported by an industrial vision, meaning strators such as Sandro Properzi, and, of course, iconic prototypes it can count on an international, diversified market. It is now present and models designed by leading Italian and foreign designers. Gio in over 100 countries worldwide. www.poltronafrau.com

Bottom, Vanity Fair XC, a Poltrona Frau icon, designed by Renzo Frau and in production since the 1930s. Revisited by Roberto Lazzeroni to mark the company’s 90th anniversary. Left, the Massimosistema sofa, the Brera bench and Fitzgerald chairs aboard a Pershing 108

questions to Nicola Coropulis

CEO of Poltrona Frau

Left, the fabric version of the Get Back sofa by Ludovica and Roberto Palomba. Below from left, the Viola chair, from the 2020 collection, designed by AB Concept, the Archibald armchair by Jean-Marie Massaud and an elegant detail of a Fitzgerald chair by JeanMarie Massaud aboard a Pershing 108

Poltrona Frau’s collections include classic and contemporary pieces... The company has its roots in a noble past. We are carrying on an Italian furniture tradition that has gone through many evolutions and spanned various eras. Being contemporary but also offering solutions that have a leitmotif that connects them with our history is the best way of passing on our skills and keeping them alive. Reissuing historic Italian design pieces, such as Gianfranco Frattini’s, is an organic part of that project. What are the most popular pieces? We are much associated with the Vanity Fair armchair, which we gave a modern twist last year to mark its 90th anniversary. But the real door-opener on all our markets is the Chester sofa which has been in the Poltrona Frau collection since the company was founded, in 1912. Our new icon is the Archibald, an armchair designed by Jean-Marie Massaud in 2009. Our collaboration with Massaud marked a move away from the Poltrona Frau stereotype of a company that only produced classic furnishings. We continued that transition with designer Roberto Lazzeroni: his Ginger and Montera chairs are very popular. Their mix of leather, wood and suede ensure they can easily be used on yachts. How do you adapt your furnishings for onboard use? Our Residential, Interiors in Motion and Custom Interiors Divisions all work in synergy. After an initial analysis of the design, we define both ad hoc pieces and collection pieces which can be adapted whilst still retaining their identity. The nautical business that has become even more significant during the pandemic. Ferretti’s CEO Alberto Galassi talks about yachts as private islands that recreate a sense of safety and exclusivity for their owners. What are the most popular colour families in the ColorSphere® palette? The most popular are neutrals. We launched ColorSphere® last year to provide interchangeable colours that had a more emotional appeal than the dated ones from the 1980s which were based on a more scientific approach to colour that was typical of 20th century thinking. Leather is Poltrona Frau’s signature materials. But is there any room for fabric or textiles in this “Leathership”? Nowadays, 20% of our range is fabric and 80% in leather and suede. We are beginning a partnership with the Loro Piana’s Interiors division also. We will be introducing their fabrics - a 100% cashmere, a 100% wool and a cashmere-wool mix, all as natural as our own skin – to upholster our products. They will be in the Milan store from April but there will also be a fully interactive online platform. For the first time this year, that will focus on three senses: sight, touch and smell.

Below, the Barbican chair by Rodolfo Dordoni. Middle, on board the Oasis yacht by Benetti, table D.859.1 by Gio Ponti with Miss chairs by Tobia Scarpa. Right, Alisee coffee table by Matteo Nunziati. Bottom, the Octave sofa by Vincent Van Duysen

MOLTENI GROUP

The largest Italian industrial group in the furnishings sector is gearing up to face future challenges by aligning strategies and production with market demand, from the new concept of contemporary living to respecting the environment and sustainability