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True Heritage
100+10 Years of True Evolution
Poltrona Frau has been involved
in hundreds of collaborations with
Italian and international architects
and designers throughout its history.
These relationships of mutual exchange
have helped to nurture the Brand’s
values and know-how.
The history of Poltrona Frau is a story of
design. The construction of the heritage and
manufacturing capacity that have made it a
world-famous Brand underpin the company’s
continuous research, which itself is fed by the
two-way
and
co-designing
relationship
between the craftspeople, technicians and
professionals at the Tolentino factory and top
international designers. Hundreds of collabo-
rations have taken place over the 110 years of
the company’s life. Whether it was a single
project or a longer, ongoing collaboration,
every contribution made by designers and
architects has become an integral part of the
Poltrona Frau world. Each influence, tech-
nique or aesthetic has contributed to the
establishing of the material culture which
today allows Poltrona Frau to be the pre-
ferred interpreter for the most complex
designs and projects.
Every furnishing icon, as well as every
product custom made for public premises or
“interiors in motion” represents a technical
challenge, pure experimentation and a
development process punctuated by count-
less tests and evaluations. These experiments
subsequently allow results to be organised
into solutions that can be standardised.
Each project generates new skills and
develops new technological competences
passed on to all three of the company’s busi-
ness units. This transferring process allows to
create innovative and unique ideas and
design concepts, where Poltrona Frau goes
far beyond the mere execution of the work.
An empathic synergy of ideas and skills is
created between designer and company. This
was already evident with the Dezza armchair,
developed in 1965 together with Gio Ponti,
who introduced his idea of a modular system,
or rather one with a limited number of pieces
to be assembled, to the company’s pro-
duction repertoire. Products that can be dis-
assembled, with replaceable component
parts, are the constant focus of research in
Poltrona Frau furnishings today, because they
offer sustainability and durability.
While working with designers, Poltrona
Frau has not only researched materials and
manufacturing techniques, but also the
needs and changes in contemporary living
and travel. For example, the different uses of
public and private spaces, the versatility and
transformation of the types of furniture in
relation to social customs, and the changes in
taste and symbols linked to the concept of
luxury. Each collaboration has made it possi-
ble to renew the system of values and the
language through which Poltrona Frau
expresses itself. An ever-contemporary lan-
guage with evolving techniques, know-how
and high-quality craftsmanship. All of this is
encapsulated in the stories of eleven of the
protagonists from the last 10 years.
Mutual
Creative Fusion
True Heritage
Architects and Designers
