Fantastic fabric: Marta Ferri brings fresh ideas to Molteni & C.
![Materia fabric collection straw, tree root and leaf patterns](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hiUGCVCTMVj4akhxzF5csk-415-80.jpeg)
Long a bastion for pure, unfettered Italian-made design, Molteni & C. has dipped subtly and seamlessly into the world of decorative fabrics, a brand new category for the 80 year old company. Helping them move from their traditional minimal roots into something more decorative is the 31-year-old Milan-based fashion designer Marta Ferri.
'We needed a touch of womanliness in Brianza [the company's home province],' says Giulia Molteni, granddaughter of founder Angelo Molteni and the brand’s current head of marketing and communication. 'Not to mention new, fresh and young energy from someone outside the regular names everybody uses in design.'
An elegant and very stylish fixture in the city, who runs her own couture making atelier in the 5 Vie district, Ferri is indeed outside of traditional design circles.
'Unless you count the nine homes I’ve moved into over the years and decorated myself,' the designer laughs, 'I don’t have a formal design background.'
But she does know her way around textiles, specifically vintage fabrics and rich upholsteries that she digs out of hidden warehouses or derelict archives and whips up into impact-making occasion dressing gowns for her well-heeled clientele.
The main task at Molteni was business as usual for Ferri who did a 'mega research' at a Como-based fabric archive and then recreated fresh designs. Her 'Materia' collection features three new patterns, each inspired by nature, including straw, tree root and leaf patterns printed on a range of velvets, cheniles, leather and linens. The textiles, which cover several of Molteni’s new pieces, designed by Patricia Urquiola, Rodolfo Dordoni and Vincent Van Duysen, will debut at Molteni’s booth at Salone del Mobile, which Ferri has styled, as well as in the city’s Ferragamo boutique.
Ferri has also designed 'Sky-Line', a print featuring New York city skyscrapers that debuts on a series of furniture that Molteni will sell online at Luisaviaroma from 12 April.
Ferri has also designed 'Sky-Line', a print featuring New York city skyscrapers
The design debuts on a series of furniture that Molteni will sell online at Luisaviaroma from 12 April. Take a look behind the scenes of the promotional shoot for 'Sky-Line' above
'We needed a touch of womanliness in Brianza,' says Giulia Molteni. 'Not to mention new, fresh and young energy from someone outside the regular names everybody uses in design'
INFORMATION
For more information, visit Luisaviaroma's website
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
JJ Martin
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
Faye Toogood brings new life to Matisse’s legacy
Milan Design Week 2023: tapped by Maison Matisse, the London-based designer has taken inspiration from the French master’s forms to create a collection of heirloom-worthy objects
By Sam Rogers Published
-
Prada Frames 2023: Milan programme announced
Programme announced for Prada Frames 2023 at Milan Design Week, the annual symposium curated by Formafantasma at Luigi Caccia Dominioni's Teatro Filodrammatici from 17 to 19 April
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Alessi Occasional Objects: Virgil Abloh’s take on cutlery
Best Cross Pollination: Alessi's cutlery by the late designer Virgil Abloh, in collaboration with his London studio Alaska Alaska, is awarded at the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2023
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
Salone del Mobile 2023: highlights from Milan Design Week
In pictures: our highlights from Milan Design Week, held during the 61st Salone del Mobile 2023 (18-23 April)
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
USM launches blushing pink limited edition of its modular furniture
Following an installation during Milan Design Week 2022, USM launches a new pink limited edition of its Haller range
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
‘You don't want space; you want to fill it’: Milan exhibition
Making its debut during Milan Design Week 2022 at Marsèll Paradise, a new exhibition by Matylda Krzykowski, explores how we approach the space we live in (until 15 July 2022)
By Cristina Kiran Piotti Last updated
-
Men’s mental health takes centre stage at an art and design exhibition by Tableau
‘Confessions’, which travels to Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design following its debut at Milan Design Week 2022, features commissioned work by 14 male artists, designers and architects, reflecting on toxic masculinity, vulnerability and mental health
By TF Chan Last updated
-
Salone del Mobile 2022: highlights from Milan Design Week
In pictures: our highlights from Milan Design Week 2022, held during the 60th edition of Salone del Mobile (7 – 12 June 2022)
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated