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
-
Japan in Milan! See the highlights of Japanese design at Milan Design Week 2025At Milan Design Week 2025 Japanese craftsmanship was a front runner with an array of projects in the spotlight. Here are some of our highlights
-
Tour the best contemporary tea houses around the worldCelebrate the world’s most unique tea houses, from Melbourne to Stockholm, with a new book by Wallpaper’s Léa Teuscher
-
‘Humour is foundational’: artist Ella Kruglyanskaya on painting as a ‘highly questionable’ pursuitElla Kruglyanskaya’s exhibition, ‘Shadows’ at Thomas Dane Gallery, is the first in a series of three this year, with openings in Basel and New York to follow
-
Eight designers to know from Rossana Orlandi Gallery’s Milan Design Week 2025 exhibitionWallpaper’s highlights from the mega-exhibition at Rossana Orlandi Gallery include some of the most compelling names in design today
-
Bentley’s new home collections bring the ‘potency’ of its cars to Milan Design WeekNew furniture, accessories and picnic pieces from Bentley Home take cues from the bold lines and smooth curves of Bentley Motors
-
StoneX partners with Wallpaper* for material alchemy at Milan Design Week and beyondThe natural stone purveyor teams up with Wallpaper* for a three-year partnership of material adventures, starting with an exhibition at Triennale di Milano
-
David Rockwell’s Milan Design Week presentation is a love letter to corkRockwell Group’s Casa Cork installation showcases this under-appreciated material, which is infinitely recyclable and sequesters carbon for decades
-
Emerging galleries to discover during Milan Design WeekWallpaper’s Milan editor has the inside track on the younger design galleries coming to town
-
Buccellati brings the forest and Furry Animals to Milan Design WeekThe jewellery and silverware maison falls back on tradition for its Milan showcase, presenting its now-emblematic collection of intricately crafted creatures
-
Where next for Salone del Mobile? Maria Porro on the future of the world’s biggest furniture fairAhead of Salone del Mobile 2025 in Milan, we sit down with its president to talk design, data and forging the event’s future in a fast-changing world
-
What to see at Milan Design Week 2025A guide to some of the events the Wallpaper* team is checking out at Milan Design Week (7–13 April) – from public installations and major launches to standout venues and must-see exhibitions
