Discover the Wallpaper* guide to Salone del Mobile 2023 and Milan Design Week
Designed by Gio Ponti in 1965, the ‘Dezza’ armchair, named after the Milanese street where the architect’s home-studio was located, is characterised by a soft, sleek silhouette with a tapered triangular leg. The chair is available in three versions: ‘Dezza 12’, with a low backrest and thin armrests allowing for multiple elements to be combined, ‘Dezza 48’, equipped with a goose-down-filled backrest, and ‘Dezza 24’, a two-seater sofa option.
An image from a Poltrona Frau archive booklet, showing the chair's assembly instructions
The chair is a fitting example of Ponti's architectural mind when conceiving furniture design: distinctive elements of the ‘Dezza’ chair design include tapered legs with triangular cross sections, and the essential construction - the design, in fact, is simply made of four pieces, including two sides, a backrest, and the seat.
Gio Ponti's ‘Dezza’ with Redevance upholstery
Archive image of Gio Ponti's print design
For Milan Design Week 2023, Poltrona Frau celebrates Ponti's design with the launch of a brand new edition, upholstered in the never-seen-before ‘Redevance’ fabric, which has been created from a graphic pattern originally designed by Ponti. The print has been brought back to life in careful collaboration with the Gio Ponti Archives and Manifattura Jsa, a textile company founded in 1949 by Luigi Grampa and well known for its collaborations with Ponti.
Redevance textile in an archive photo
‘Redevance’ is a printed woollen silk featuring a signature Ponti shades of blue and grey in a pattern of simple geometric elements, broken down and replicated in sequence.
The new edition of Ponti's chair is part of Poltrona Frau's ‘Pleasure Collection’, featuring designs by the company's long-term collaborators as well as accessories and reissues.
Poltrona Frau's Pleasure collection is on view at the showroom, Via Alessandro Manzoni, 30, Milan
See the May 2023 issue of Wallpaper*, on sale 13 April, for more Salone del Mobile previews. Wallpaper* is available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today
-
‘I’ve considered every single detail’: how Victoria Beckham designed the perfect make-up brush collectionVictoria Beckham speaks to Wallpaper* about the meticulous design process behind her debut collection of make-up brushes, which perfectly treads a line between form and function
-
Can Maserati modernise or is the sun setting on one of Italy’s most beloved automotive brands?Maserati’s GranTurismo Folgore is an epic electric grand tourer without equal. If only its traditionalist customers wanted it more
-
Viviane Sassen considers fine art, fashion photography and fragility in ItalyViviane Sassen’s exhibition, 'This Body Made of Stardus' at Collezione Maramotti, spans two decades off Sassen's career
-
Tokyo design studio We+ transforms microalgae into coloursCould microalgae be the sustainable pigment of the future? A Japanese research project investigates
-
Delvis (Un)Limited turns a Brera shopfront into a live-in design installationWhat happens when collectible design becomes part of a live performance? The Theatre of Things, curated by Joseph Grima and Valentina Ciuffi, invited designers to live with their work – and let the public look in
-
Naoto Fukasawa sparks children’s imaginations with play sculpturesThe Japanese designer creates an intuitive series of bold play sculptures, designed to spark children’s desire to play without thinking
-
Inside the Shakti Design Residency, taking Indian craftsmanship to Alcova 2025The new initiative pairs emerging talents with some of India’s most prestigious ateliers, resulting in intricately crafted designs, as seen at Alcova 2025 in Milan
-
Faye Toogood comes up roses at Milan Design Week 2025Japanese ceramics specialist Noritake’s design collection blossoms with a bold floral series by Faye Toogood
-
6:AM create a spellbinding Murano glass showcase in Milan’s abandoned public shower stallsWith its first solo exhibition, ‘Two-Fold Silence’, 6:AM unveils an enchanting Murano glass installation beneath Piscina Cozzi
-
Dimoremilano and Loro Piana channel 1970s cinema in decadent Milan displayAt Milan Design Week 2025, Dimorestudio has directed and staged an immersive, film-inspired installation to present new furniture and decor for Loro Piana
-
In Milan, MoscaPartners presents a poetic exploration of ‘migration’Alongside immersive work by Byoung Cho, MoscaPartners’ Milan Design Week 2025 display features an accessible exhibition path designed for visually impaired visitors
