FOUR NEW ADDITIONS TO THE CASSINA IMAESTRI COLLECTION

 

FOR ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY, THE CASSINA IMAESTRI COLLECTION EXPANDS TO INCLUDE VICO MAGISTRETTI, GIO PONTI, CARLO SCARPA AND, IN ANTICIPATION OF THE LAUNCH OF THEIR LIGHTING COLLECTION IN 2024, CHARLES & RAY EAMES.

 

 This year, for its 50th anniversary, the Cassina iMaestri Collection expands to welcome new authors who have written the history of design and, consequently, earned their rightful place in this universe: Vico Magistretti, Gio Ponti, Carlo Scarpa and, in anticipation of the launch of their lighting collection in 2024, Charles and Ray Eames.  

 

The Cassina iMaestri Collection was officially presented in 1973 with the inclusion of models by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. For some time, the company had already begun analysing and selecting the most significant pieces of furniture by leading figures from the Modern Movement. This process began in 1964 with the acquisition of the exclusive worldwide rights for the serial production of the first four models designed by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand. Over the years, the collection has brought together some of the most iconic furniture of the 20th Century by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Erik Gunnar Asplund, Charlotte Perriand, Franco Albini, Marco Zanuso, Ico Parisi and Giacomo Balla.

 

Cassina pays homage to Vico Magistretti's entry into the world of the maestri with Maralunga 50, an exclusive edition of one of the Milanese architect's most recognised models that, like the collection, turns 50 this year.

Available for a limited time only, this new version of the armchair and the two or three-seater sofa has been dressed in nubuck leather in the Maralunga 50 colour, a particular shade of red that was very dear to Magistretti. A true hallmark of the architect, red was a constant throughout his life and career, from the socks he often wore to it becoming a symbol of his nonconformism in the design sector.

 

The strong bond between Cassina and Gio Ponti is celebrated with Principi, a model that was part of the research process that began in the 1950s to develop the wooden chair par excellence. Designed in 1960, Principi was included in the furnishings of the iconic hotel designed by Ponti from which it takes its name, the Parco dei Principi in Rome. The author's unmistakable style has given shape to a distinctive and refined design, enhanced by haute woodwork details like the cut of the backrest that recalls the shape of a diamond.

Principi is available in four elegant shades – white, Vermiglione red, Cielo light blue and black – selected and inspired by the maestro's kaleidoscopic ceramics.

 

The ripples of the Venetian lagoon emerge in the glass top of the Doge Laguna table designed by the new maestro Carlo Scarpa. This version of the table, developed in close collaboration with his son Tobia Scarpa, has been presented in a limited edition of 50 pieces. In an homage to the ancient art of glassmaking, the reflections of the waves of the Laguna are recreated through elaborate workmanship that result in a textured and wavy top.

Ray (second from left) and Charles (right) looking at the Galaxy prototype in Eames Office workshop in 1949 © Eames Office, LLC, 2023

 

 

In the lead up to the launch of their lighting collection in 2024, the influential American couple Charles and Ray Eames join Cassina’s great maestri.

During Milan Design Week, a preview of a prototype of the Galaxy lamp was displayed at the Cassina Store Milan for the presentation of the Cassina Lighting Collection whose genesis arose from the discovery of the lighting designs by Charles and Ray Eames conserved at the Eames Office, the design studio founded by Charles and Ray in 1941.

 

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