Cassina’s first line of outdoor furniture has a midcentury edge
At IMM Cologne (13-19 January), Italian stalwarts Cassina will be revealing its first ever outdoor collection that blends reimagined design icons with a set of contemporary al fresco pieces

Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Thank you for signing up to Wallpaper. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Last year, Italian brand Cassina broadened its horizons. With Patricia Urquiola spearheading as art director, it launched The Cassina Perspective – a visual path of its creativity that celebrates reborn classics and contemporary design. For 2020, Cassina are shifting this lens outdoor with a collection of pieces designed by Rodolfo Dordoni, Philippe Starck and Urquiola, plus of course, some refreshed midcentury icons.
‘Today the outdoors is considered an important part of our lives,’ says Luca Fuso, CEO of Cassina. The Cassina Perspective Goes Outdoor range takes inspiration from plenty of al fresco joy – for Starck, it was nature. For the French designer’s seating and coffee table, he employed hand craft to create a tactile and warm aura. Meanwhile, the charm of 1950s holiday resorts are the source of inspiration for Dordoni, who creates an urban range titled Sail Out, which includes modular seating and dining arrangements, that could easily style a city outdoor environment.
My childhood years were spent with my classmates amongst nature
Le Corbusier
Urquiola’s design travels further north – ‘During a trip to Greenland I noted these little trampolines outside the locals’ houses. This playful object inspired me to design Trampoline.’ Described as a love bed, the curvaceous structure invites guests with soft upholstery and rope detailing.
Above, Patricia Urquiola’s Trampoline love bed with Bowy outdoor low table. Below, Outdoor LC collection by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand
Combining these new products with midcentury marvels was a natural decision for the Cassina team, ‘our values are based on avant-gardism, authenticity, excellence and the combination of technological capacity with skilled hand craftsmanship... whether a new product or classic reedition,’ Fuso says. Charlotte Perriand’s 1947 The Doron Hotel armchair, a design in teak that echoes her adoration for the mountains and winter voyages, has been given an outdoor hydro oil finish. Meanwhile, the versatile LC Collection, realised by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Perriand as simple and functional forms, has been relaunched in outdoor-friendly iterations too.
Cassina works with Le Corbusier Foundation to reconstruct natural details for these designs, while engaging with the three pioneers’ passion for the outdoors – Le Corbusier cities in The Decorative Art of Today, 1st ed. Paris, G. Crès, coll. ‘The New Spirit,’ 1925, Paris, Flammarion, 1996, p.198 – ‘My childhood years were spent with my classmates amongst nature […] I knew flowers inside out, the shapes and colours of birds, how a tree grows, and it balances even in the eye of a storm. The tree, a man’s friend, a symbol of all organic creation; the tree, the image of a complete construction.’
Fenc E Nature sofa by Philippe Starck for Cassina
Dine Out by Rodolfo Dordoni for Cassina
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
Every cloud: discover Shiqi Fu’s dreamy jewellery
Shiqi Fu translates childhood fantasy into playful jewellery design
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Aesop’s ethereal boutiques: explore the brand’s design philosophy in a short film
Perfectly integrated into the local urban fabric, Aesop’s three new boutiques showcase the brand’s powerful yet pared-back design philosophy
By Dal Chodha Published
-
When Barber Osgerby met Giulio Cappellini
Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby tell Wallpaper* about working with design visionary Giulio Cappellini, Guest Editor of our October 2023 issue
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
Best reissues: vintage design classics revitalised with brio
Explore vintage design reimagined for the future
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Berluti delivers colour and care to revive Pierre Jeanneret’s Chandigarh furniture
For this year’s Design Miami, Kris Van Assche partners with François Laffanour to present a collection of Pierre Jeanneret furniture pieces
By Nick Vinson - Art Direction Last updated
-
Cassina’s furniture as seen through the lens of Karl Lagerfeld
By Elly Parsons Published
-
Tokyo story: our series of illustrated interiors is blossoming
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Worldwide warehouse: online vintage storeroom Design Market goes global
By Elly Parsons Last updated
-
Charlotte Perriand's lost holiday house built by Louis Vuitton for the first time
By Caroline Roux Last updated
-
Amie Siegel searches for 'Provenance' in a new film tracing Le Corbusier's furniture
By Jessica Klingelfuss Last updated
-
Cassina to open its first London showroom, designed by Piero Lissoni
By Ali Morris Last updated