The next Salone del Mobile, which will be held in Milan from 7 to 12 June, will be 60 years old, and, as is fitting when such important anniversaries are celebrated, everyone is expecting remakes and re-editions which – duly – have already begun to get to the newsrooms. There is no shortage of news and perhaps the most surprising is that of Frau armchair, a made in Italy brand "charged" with 110 years of history and great polish, which has recently decided to entrust digital technologies with the reinterpretation of one of its famous armchairs, the Archibald, designed by Jean-Marie Massaud.
It will be available in a limited edition of only 110 pieces, available for purchase on the Poltrona Frau e-commerce channel, in flagship stores and selected retailers around the world. The artist was called to create this splendid special edition Philip Pantone, known for his frescoes, murals, paintings and sculptures that blend “analogue past and digitized future”.
Pantone created a mesmerizing motif which has a vibrating effect on the leather surface and which is printed directly on the skin with a technique usually reserved for small luxury leather goods, showing the high craftsmanship of Poltrona Frau's workers in combining it on the upholstery. A final result which, with digital technology, is enriched with iridescent nuances, with hypnotizing dynamism as if it were crossed by a constant video reproduction. The armchair is also upholstered in the new and more sustainable Frau Impact leather Less: chromium-free, it allows a substantial reduction in the use of water, chemical components and the release of polluting substances.
Founded by the Sardinian Renzo Frau in Turin, then transferred in 1962 with the acquisition by Nazareno Gabriellic in Tolentino in the Marche region, Poltrona Frau has marked and followed with its inimitable upholstered furniture and furniture the history and homes of reigning dynasties, great industrialists, world stars of the show business and has entered the most prestigious museums, famous and admired residences and locations. Because owning a Frau -always very expensive- means standing out not for wealth but above all for the refinement of taste. In the meantime the company was acquired in 2004 by the fund Charming Investments founded by Luca and Matteo Cordero di Montezemolo which already welcomes the historic brands within it Caps and, in 2005, Cassina.
Thus was born Poltrona Frau Group, which in 2014 became part of the American group Haworth, a worldwide signature in office furniture which today has a turnover of almost 2 billion dollars and boasts 95% of exports. A name change immediately after the purchase and the former Poltrona Frau Group becomes Lifestyle Group with a turnover of over 500 million euros
Other furniture companies such as the highly refined Danish company soon enter the company Karakter, then the Italian interior. In 2020 another sensational acquisition, the Romagna Luxury Living Group (90 million turnover) which for 30 years has been manufacturing under license furniture from the big names in fashion, such as Fendi Casa, Trussardi Casa, Bentley Home, Bugatti Home and Baccarat la Maison. Haworth is American but the CEO, the Italian Franco Bianchi, entered Haworth immediately after making the great coup at Frau, leaving the companies acquired the necessary creative freedom with an unmistakable Italian imprint. And, despite the harshness of a management very marked by the domination of profit, the top management of Haworth - the family that founded it - are realizing that this will increasingly be the key to other and greater successes
