Valextra’s collaboration with Zaven is a ‘travelling sculpture’ with its own suitcase

In 1954, Valextra, the Milanese leather goods brand known for its rigorous, architectural sensibility, received the first Compasso d’Oro award for its ‘24-hour’ briefcase. Designed by Valextra founder Giovanni Fontana, it is an icon of midcentury product design, made to hold all the necessities of an overnight work trip, from business papers to a change of shirt, in a minimal leather shell. Exactly 70 years later, Enrica Cavarzan and Marco Zavagno, founders of Venice-based creative agency Zaven, would win the 2024 Compasso d’Oro for an altogether different object: the ‘Za:Za’, a soft-lined sofa designed for Zanotta in 2022.

It is this through line of good design that informs a new partnership between Valextra and Zaven, revealed at the former’s John Pawson-designed Via Manzoni flagship store during Milan Design Week 2025. For the sophomore outing of Valextra’s ‘Vocabolario’ project (the first edition in 2024 saw Studio Temp create a serene ‘spa’ in the store), Zaven has worked on a one-of-a-kind curiosity combining precise leatherwork with a sense of humour and play.

Valextra’s ‘Costa 70 + Zaven’ case at Milan Design Week 2025

Titled ‘Costa 70 + Zaven’, it is a special version of Valextra’s ‘Costa’ suitcase, designed to house a colourful kinetic sculpture conceived by Cavarzan and Zavagno (‘Costa’ refers to the signature black-lacquered edging on the brand’s leather goods, which is done by hand). The portable sculpture was inspired by a visit to the Valextra archive, where the pair discovered a series of customised cases designed to house specific items, such as calculators, games and perfumes.

The project also drew inspiration from Milanese designer Bruno Munari’s Travel Sculptures (1958-1996), a series of origami-like, three-dimensional artworks, in paper and cardboard, that could be folded flat and carried in your travel bag along with your ‘razor and underwear’, as Munari described. Zaven’s sculpture – which comprises a series of clear resin pieces designed to be placed on a central pole – encourages the same idea of hand feel, portability and amusement (because the pieces are loose, the sculpture can be assembled in numerous different orders and angles).

‘Our goal was to conceive a playful object, or more precisely, a portable laboratory designed to creatively approach the construction of structures in balance,’ say the duo. As such, the case itself is meticulously contoured to fit the various pieces, while the elongated, narrow shape is reminiscent of those used to house musical instruments. It is crafted from white parchment leather, a Valextra signature.

The ‘Vocabolario’ project has been spearheaded by Xavier Rougeaux, who became Valextra’s CEO in 2021 after stints at Smythson, Loro Piana and Sergio Rossi. ‘Architecture and design have been in Valextra’s DNA since our founder Giovanni Fontana, a former engineer, opened his first boutique in 1937, and we are always looking for new ways to celebrate the brand’s foundations,’ he says. ‘For us, Valextra is very much rooted in the Milanese design world – we want to create unique objects of desire for our clients.’

Having followed Zaven’s trajectory for some time, Rougeaux – alongside curator Maria Cristina Didero – selected the studio for what he saw as a shared affinity for ‘effortless excellence and engineering’. ‘I really like the idea that people can construct their own sculpture; it’s a level of personal expression we constantly encourage,’ he says. ‘It’s completely unexpected, which is pleasing – everybody likes a good surprise.’  

Salone del Mobile 2025 takes place 8-13 April. Check our full Milan Design Week 2025 guide for the must-sees.

This article appears in the May 2025 issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on newsstands from 3 April, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today