IDEAMAGAZINE.NET / Contributions / Market 04 2006 p2 / POLTRONA FRAU / MILAN INTERNATIONAL FURNITURE FAIR 2006 / Massimo Iosa Ghini, Tito Agnoli, Jean-Marie Massaud, Setsu and Shinobu Ito, Setsu Ito, Luca Scacchetti, Claudio Silvestrin, Pierluigi Cerri, Studio Cerri and Associati, Achille Castiglioni, Michele De Lucchi, Lella and Massimo Vignelli, Lella Vignelli, Enzo Mari, Carlo Colombo, Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Achille Castiglioni, Historical Archives Poltrona Frau, Ricardo Antonio, Poltrona Frau Research & Development Centre, Emilio Ambasz, Jean Nouvel, Norman Foster, Santiago Calatrava, Renzo Piano, Richard Meier, Frank O. Ghery

POLTRONA FRAU / MILAN INTERNATIONAL FURNITURE FAIR 2006

An international brand name representing the design, elegance and perfection of Italian-made products Poltrona Frau is coming from solid Italian origins but with an international reach, and now is a leader in top of the range furniture, and is a spokesman throughout the world for the values associated with the design and production of Italian-made goods.
Founded in 1912, Poltrona Frau has been refining its sophisticated expertise in hand-crafted workmanship through 90 years of history. This expertise, perfected through time, continues to be passed down by master craftsmen from generation to generation. Today, as in the past, this heritage of knowledge and skill is captured within each piece of Poltrona Frau furniture. The intimate and timeless elegance, the personality of each individual piece, are the fruit of the craftsman’s skill and a design that enhances hand-crafted workmanship even in the most modern forms. The manufacturing expertise has always been combined with research into materials, in order to obtain the best from leather and from the exclusive Pelle Frau®, modernising them while keeping their original, natural softness, warmth and tactile qualities. The same care and passion is also devoted to the most innovative and technologically materials.

With more than 60 flagship stores, stretching from New York and Rome to Paris and Milan, Poltrona Frau is the brand name that symbolises luxury construed as discreet and universal elegance, as craftsmanship and perfection. This original encounter between tradition and modernity has made Poltrona Frau a highly recognisable presence in a number of sectors: residential, office, contract work and interiors for cars, aeroplanes, yachts and helicopters.

Here at Poltrona Frau the great classics, such as the Vanity Fair and Chesterfield, sit freely alongside contemporary forms and furnishings, in collaboration with Italian and international designers such as Pierluigi Cerri, Achille Castiglioni, Michele De Lucchi, Jean-Marie Massaud, Emilio Ambasz. The uniqueness of shape, the beauty of the materials and the fineness of the hand-crafted work are the distinctive traits that make each piece of furniture unique.

Together with the best designers, the research into elegant, comfortable and personal shapes and solutions continues in the work space, interpreted by Poltrona Frau with exclusive furnishings combining practicality and atmosphere, style and ergonomics.

Sophisticated settings are also provided for the high-end Contract sector. Poltrona Frau develops and creates projects alongside architects like Jean Nouvel, Norman Foster, Richard Meier throughout the world. From the Palau Reina Sofia in Valencia, by the Santiago Calatrava Studio, the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles by Frank O. Gehry, and the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, by Renzo Piano, to the European Parliament in Strasbourg and the Italian Stock Exchange in Milan.

The contemporary traveller’s habitats designed by Poltrona Frau's Interiors in Motion division reveal the same attention to quality, usability and manufacturing details. Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls Royce, Japan Airlines, Air France, and Star Alliance - today Poltrona Frau is designing interiors upholstered in Pelle Frau® and leather for the automobile and aeronautic industries at the highest level. Poltrona Frau is an international point of reference for luxurious comfort.

Following we signal the last products realized in 2006.

Alo, stool designed by Massimo Iosa Ghini, fluid and dynamic lines for an ergonomic and decidedly contemporary design. Comfortable seating in a versatile stool that can be placed in any area of the house. The shell is in multilayer curved wood, the padding is in foamed polyurethane and the upholstery in Pelle Frau® with piping around the edge. The frame is in chrome-plated steel.

Eskilo, sofa designed by Tito Agnoli, clean, neat lines. A sign of character to give personality to the living-room. Functional design and welcoming forms, for pleasant day to day use. The back cushions are also available in a higher version to guarantee a greater degree of comfort. The frame is in seasoned beech-wood. The padding is in foamed polyurethane with zigzag springs in well-proportioned steel for the seat. The cushions are goose feather filled with a stabilizing insert in foamed polyurethane. The upholstery is in Pelle Frau® with quilted stitching, or in fabric. The feet are made from black painted wood. The pouf is equipped with self-blocking swivel wheels.
Again designed by Tito Agnoli, the sofa Aurora.

Kennedee and Kennedee D, sofas designed by Jean-Marie Massaud, a personality that stands out from the crowd. International elegance. Dynamic and wide-ranging lines. A modular sofa with an infinite number of combinations. The different elements allow the free creation of curving lines and open perspectives. Jean-Marie Massaud's clean, linear design enhances the natural beauty of Pelle Frau®. The light and modern quilting of the back and cushions reveals Poltrona Frau’s age-old artisanal skills. The delicate ‘X’ motif, hand-sewn with grey thread on black or white leather upholstery, and with beige thread on all the other colour variations. The frame is in seasoned beech wood, with polyurethane foam and Dacron® for comfortable padding of the back, armrests and cushions. The feet are in extruded steel with a gunmetal finish.
There are two versions available: Kennedee and Kennedee D. The latter has greater depth and also includes a pouf and small tables; both versions have a plywood frame and swivel wheels for ease of movement. The pouf is filled with polyurethane foam and Dacron® like the rest of the system. The small tables are finished in a Santos rosewood veneer.

Jackie, bed designed by Jean-Marie Massaud. It has the style, the class, and the free and easy manner of the First Lady from whom it takes its name. The geometric headboard, with a frame in seasoned beech wood and soft padding in polyurethane foam, maintains all the warmth and naturalness of Pelle Frau®. Discreet X-stitching by hand enriches and enlivens the surfaces. Particular care is shown in the use of grey thread for the stitching on the black and white leather, and beige thread for the stitching on all the other colour variations. The base is made from poplar plywood, lightly padded with polyurethane foam, with upholstery also in Pelle Frau®. The cylindrical feet are in anthracite steel. The Jackie bed is completed with the wide range of Bases, Mattresses and Complements from the Poltrona Frau Notte® collection.

Bob, table designed by Jean-Marie Massaud, an elegant and functional object with a frank simplicity and beauty, freely inspired by the international lifestyle that has the Kennedy imprint. Perfect beside the Don’Dò, the Bob small table echoes this item’s formal purity and the sensual richness created by the juxtaposition of different materials. The round top, with a plywood frame, yields to the touch with the softness of its Pelle Frau® upholstery which also covers the upper part of the leg. The base of the leg and the feet are in steel, maintaining the sense of rigour in the metal version with gunmetal finishing, or taking on the warmth of wood in the version with canaletto walnut veneer. Formal purity and discreet luxury.

Saku, table designed by Setsu and Shinobu Ito. The simplicity of the design entrusts the task of creating original aesthetic effects from the different materials set beside each other. The base, in multilayer wood, is upholstered in Pelle Frau® and embellished with stitching at the four corners. In contrast, the visible wood provides a decorative motif with its layers in horizontal stripes. The legs are made of multilayer birch and the base consists of a chrome metal plate. Più Notte, settimino, bedside table and chest of drawers designed by Poltrona Frau Research & Development Centre. Three easy pieces to furnish the night-time area and organise space better. Capacious and comfortable with clean geometric lines: ideal for contemporary living. They come with the consistency and quality of Saddle leather upholstery. The shapes are clearly outlined with beige or grey stitching, emphasising the doors and drawers. The adjustable feet and handles are in aluminium with satinised, gunmetal or aluminium-coloured paint finishing.

Sinan Bridge, designed by Luca Scacchetti, revives the classic style and soft lines of Sinan in an original variation. The back and arms are extended to the base, creating an effect of elegant continuity and compactness. The back shell is in steel with moulded foamed polyurethane. There is a range of possible upholstery: single or two-colour leather; fabric and leather together; or entirely fabric. It has unidirectional front wheels and swivel rear wheels to facilitate movement.

Always of 2006 we signal the products: