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 by Micaela Zucconi 9
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ounded in Turin in 1912 by Renzo Frau, Poltrona Frau
Ponti, Pierluigi Cerri, Marco Zanuso, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche,
celebrates 110 years in business next year. This a major
Jean-Marie Massaud and Roberto Lazzeroni have all left their mark
milestone as very few Italian companies are so long-li-
on the brand’s products over the decades. Now making home, office,
ved. An enduring star of the Italian furniture scene, the
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 Cu-
has never lost its original identity or core values. This is particularly
stom Interiors. Residential launches new yearly collections desig-
the 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 go-
bought 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 desi-
Charme 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
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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
questions to Nicola Coropulis CEO Poltrona Frau 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.
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