Arflex
Arflex won the prestigious Compasso d’Oro design prize in 1954 for its debut offering, the Lady armchair by Marco Zanuso. The company’s fine back catalogue of furniture from the 1950s and 1960s includes more from Zanuso as well as Franco Albini and Cini Boeri, who also won the Compasso d’Oro for her Strips seating. In the store you can find these plus contemporary products by Carlo Colombo, Vincent Van Duysen and Hannes Wettstein.
Corso Europa 11; tel: 02 76 31 81 62; www.arflex.com
Modernariato
A small door leads downstairs to this gallery, which feels a little out of place amongst the chain stores in the busy street. It’s hard to spot but worth the trouble. Modernariato, as the name suggests, sells furniture, lighting, objects and one off artworks from important Italian designers like Ettore Sottsass, Giò Ponti, Joe Colombo, Ugo La Pietra and Gaetano Pesce. There’s a good selection of 80’s pieces and some recent limited edition works from both Pesce and Sottsass.
Corso Vittorio Emanuele ang. Via S. Paolo; tel: 02 86 90 948; www.modernariato.it
Monforte
Corso Monforte starts at Piazza San Babila and has a high concentration of lighting, kitchen and furniture stores. A left turn at Santa Cecilia leads you to Cappellini, a left turn at San Damiano to De Padova, a right into Visconti di Modrone to Schiffini and if you continue to the end of Monforte you will hit Zanotta.
Flos
Founded in 1962, Flos began producing a number of classics in Italian industrial design; Arco, Relemme, Toio and Taccia — all designed by Achille and Piergiacomo Castiglioni. They still produce them all, plus others including Tobia Scarpa’s 1966 Foglio wall lamp. Classics aside, contemporary products like Jasper Morrison’s Glo-ball series and Kostantin Grcic’s multi-purpose floor or suspension lamp May Day (which won him the Compasso d’Oro) make this an essential visit for lighting.
Corso Monforte 9; tel: 02 76 00 16 41; www.flos.com
Artemide
This lighting brand has a great selection of historical lamps, like the Tizio desk lamp by Richard Sapper, the almost sculptural Fato by Giò Ponti, Dalù by Vico Magistretti and the organic, mushroom shaped Lesbo by Angelo Mangiarotti. It’s not all prodotti storici though; some of the new pieces like Pipe by Herzog & de Meuron and float by James Irvine are also worth seeking out. They have a second store at Via Manzoni 12.
Corso Monforte 19; tel: 02 76 00 69 30; www.artemide.com
Cappellini
Giulio Cappellini has found and fostered some major talent over the years and the products in his Milan store also grace the collections of leading museums throughout the world. Many are almost iconic, such as Marcel Wander’s Knotted Chair, the S-Chair by Tom Dixon, the Cloud shelving by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and the Thinking Man’s Chair by Jasper Morrison. Additionally, Cappellini produce the Proust armchair from Alessandro Mendini (1978) and the superminimal Fronzoni 64 table, bed and chair by A.G Fronzoni from 1964.
Via Santa Cecilia 4; tel: 02 76 00 38 89; www.cappellini.it
È DePadova
De Padova produce and distribute furniture and products by the greats of Italian Design i.e. Achille Castiglioni and Vico Magistretti, as well as by younger emerging talent, like Belgian Xavier Lust and Japanese Setsu e Shinobu Ito and Nendo. Maddalena De Padova’s beautiful store on the corner of Corso Venezia and Via Damiano opened 40 years ago and has continually introduced innovative ideas and products ever since. She recently added two floors of showroom space, arguably the largest and most stunning in Milan.
Corso Venezia 14 ang. Via Damiano; tel: 02 77 72 01; www.depadova.it
Schiffini
Schiffini was founded in the 1920s and 20 years later they settled on kitchens, developing one of the first modular kitchen systems. In 1965 they began a very long and fruitful relationship with Vico Magistretti. The use of aluminium, like Magistretti’s Cinqueterra with a wave-shaped profile or Savoire in lacquered aluminium, is perhaps the brand’s signature. Other designers collaborating with them include Ludovica and Roberto Palomba and Giuliano Giaroli who also designs tables.
Via Visconti di Modrone ang. Via Passione; tel: 02 76 00 32 11; www.schiffini.it
Zanotta
Established in 1954, by Aureilio Zanotta, their eclectic range of products are designed by an impressive list of Italian architects and designers including Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Marco Zanuso, Ettore Sottsass, Joe Colombo, Andrea Branzi, Carlo Mollino, Enzo Mari and Bruno Munari. The limited edition "Zanotta Edizioni" collection, first launched in 1989, is free from the constraints of mass-production and handmade to a great extent. Highlights include the remarkable pieces by Alessandro Mendini.
Piazza del Tricolore 2; tel: 02 76 01 64 45; www.zanotta.com
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