Giovanni del Vecchio: "Telling the world about 122 years of history is a privilege"

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Giorgetti is an Italian brand with a rich history and a company that remains among the leaders in the world thanks to its commitment to tradition and unchanging quality. Two years ago, Giorgetti celebrated its 120th anniversary. We spoke with Giovanna del Vecchio, CEO of Giorgetti, about what objects the factory will present this year, about the philosophy of work, about the worldview, inspiration and aspects of creative cooperation.

PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: Considering that the Giorgetti factory has been operating since 1898, and the first collection of outdoor furniture was presented in 2017, the outdoor segment can be considered new in the history of the company. What influenced the relevance of creating a street collection? How has it evolved over these three years?

Giovanni del Vecchio: Our goal in working on the outdoor collection was to transfer the Giorgetti lifestyle from the house to the open sky, to give the opportunity to use all the space in the complex. Giorgetti's street furniture segment is now becoming more and more structured and articulated: as in the case of interior items, each collection for outdoor spaces is born from special attention to details and the search for the most exclusive and best materials for use. Over the past three years, the collection has celebrated Giorgetti's love for perfection and passion for detail, expressing it in a streamlined and transversal vision of life. In an ideal balance between craftsmanship and industrial production, between stylistic choice and innovative solutions, the new collections are intended for a dialogue with the icons of the company. Furniture elements are combined with each other in free compositions, so that the space becomes a single whole, whether it is a house, hotel or restaurant, yacht or salon. All life needs are satisfied thanks to Giorgetti's lifestyle, which is increasingly being talked about as an international language that has preserved its strong Italian roots.

Giorgetti Atelier Millano interior

PM: Usually you create new models, building a relationship with previous collections, preserving the integrity of your own style. What innovative ideas have been implemented now, and what things have remained fundamental, unchanged?

D.V.: Our goal is to create unique, timeless and recognizable products that will be relevant both today and in the future. Each detail has a clearly expressed individuality and is able to shape the space around itself. Each Giorgetti project becomes an expression of the unique heritage of designers' ideas and master's know-how. The company is in constant search of aesthetic innovations, combining new technologies and manual labor. Our products are appreciated all over the world for their style and quality, reflecting the international status of the company. We can proudly say that at every stage from design to production, all processes are carried out exclusively in the Italian style. Choosing a path that allows you to control the entire production process from the point of view of environmental protection, we guarantee the creation of durable furniture. And we always examine the details — what makes a piece of furniture unique. An entrepreneur must be able to foresee trends, understand new trends before others. Our approach to design is to think that people prefer to surround themselves with beautiful, but also useful and unique objects, truly refined things: they also expect extremely innovative content from a designer product. We determine the needs of clients, and then compare them with our aesthetic sense, our interpretation of design and the search for new materials and technologies.

Kiri storage system, designers Setsu and Shinobu Ito

PM: What items are represented by the model range of the new collection? How much attention was paid to accessories?

D.V.: The 2020 collection is extremely complex and sophisticated in terms of product types and categories. These are tables, chairs, storage systems, cabinets, decorative items. We wanted to touch on innovative areas for us. For example, the world of day and night systems. They were not in the company's DNA, but we wanted to work in this direction, looking at what the market is already doing, and create something completely different. For several years now, the Giorgetti universe has been complemented by decorative objects from the Atmosphere collection, designed to stimulate and guide the design of a harmonious environment capable of creating a unique and refined atmosphere. This year, for the first time, the collection was replenished with works signed by Carlo Colombo, Roberto Camba and Virginia Harper.

PM: Functionally, can objects from the Atmosphere collection be used only indoors or outdoors?

D.V.: The vast majority of 2020 products were designed for indoor use, while Amazonia, a sculpture by artist Roberto Camba, and the Koi basket from Giorgetti Atmosphere can be used both indoors and outdoors.

Koi basket from the Giorgetti Atmosphere collection

PM: What materials are you working with this year? Giorgetti traditionally uses solid wood, which ensures the durability of the frame. Does this principle remain today?

D.V.: The 2020 collection is very refined from this point of view. For each product, we used many materials in addition to wood, which is traditional for us and with which Giorgetti has always worked. We combined ego with leather, metal, glass and stone to create extremely complex products in terms of production and especially from a perceptual point of view. It is often difficult to combine materials so that everything works harmoniously. Each material has its own characteristics, production problems and tolerances in measurements. The characteristics of natural materials are difficult to predict, but even the observed apparent visual defects testify to the fact that they are alive, natural and so beautiful.

PM: Now there is a lot of talk about environmental problems, including the ecology of materials and production. How do you feel about the global recycling trend?

D.V.: We are working on our sustainability report, and for Giorgetti, sustainability means using natural materials, purchasing exclusively certified wood, producing durable products, caring for our nature and passing on our heritage to future generations. Giorgetti products are something like a family heirloom: you can keep them for many years, like, for example, watches or jewelry. Moreover, the company is part of the largest global dealer network - this is a community that we need to preserve.

Each designer emphasizes his respect for our history and aesthetic features

Amazonia sculpture from the Giorgetti Atmosphere collection, designed by Roberto Camba

PM: The image of your furniture is always recognizable, concise, relevant and elegant. It can be called a successful synthesis in which tradition, art deco, the East and other directions are used. How is balance achieved in this complex cocktail? And is any style dominant?

D.V.: The goal of creating original and recognizable collections has always forced the company to prefer cooperation with professionals who are able to complement the Giorgetti collection with items of unusual design. This is an ideal that is accepted by both the company and the designers: the creation of unique and timeless objects, recognizable works. Collections are true to the eclectic soul of the brand: Giorgetti presents products that create exclusive solutions with respect for refined and flawless design, seduces with the beauty of contrasts. Each designer emphasizes his respect for our history and aesthetic features. As a result, we get an amazing combination of styles.

Our goal is to offer not only products, but also a complete environment, a special atmosphere

PM: We know examples in history when an architect positioned himself not only as a building designer, but also as an interior designer, designer of clothes and household utensils, in short, he thought through everything to the smallest detail. Do you think such a comprehensive approach is correct? How relevant and useful is the experience of art collaboration for a modern designer?

D.V.: Architects and designers are very important to Giorgetti. 1990 was a turning point for us. The company decided to attract architects, urban planners and intellectuals to work with the design department. They were looking for new solutions that would allow them to create a brand in a unique and immediately recognizable style. Here are the names of some of them: Massimo Scolari, Leon Krieu and Chi Win Lo.

This practice continues today — for example, our two new collaborations in 2020 with designers who experiment in different areas. The first collaboration was with Setsu and Shinobu Ito, who worked with international clients in all areas from architecture to interior and industrial design, up to handicrafts, packaging and electronics. Another landmark collaboration is cooperation with New York designer Adam Tykhany, who brought with him 35 years of experience in the field of "hospitable" design in the premium HoReCa segment at the international level, as well as designing cruise ships and residential interiors.

An example of an integrated approach is one of our latest projects: the prestigious Giorgetti Houston building with 32 apartments fully furnished by Giorgetti. With the help of our objects, you can realize a complete interior design. Each detail makes its own contribution to the creation of space, becomes part of a complex, harmonious and unusual whole. Giorgetti works on the full cycle of creating an architectural project — from the kitchen, the heart of every home, to the outdoor collection and Atmosphere decorative objects that complement any interior. Of course, this is the right approach, even if it is not the only one.

Giorgetti Atelier Millano interior

PM: In his books, Pelevin often talks about the fact that we do not buy a thing, but the image of ourselves, who own this thing. How does Giorgetti, one of the world's leading factories, feel its responsibility for the mood, atmosphere, lifestyle that it sells and sets for the modern consumer through its products?

D.V.: As furniture manufacturers, we not only try to predict the mood, atmosphere and way of life, but we are certainly responsible for influencing them. Our goal is to offer not only products, but also a full-fledged environment, a special atmosphere, the Giorgetti lifestyle, bringing not only functionality, but also beauty, to the homes of our customers, the opportunity to enjoy life.

PM: Your style is considered to be synonymous with art. What world works or artists are you inspired by today?

D.V.: It depends on what we want to focus on. Giorgetti's creation of an atmosphere is similar to the creation of a painting. Our advertising campaign this year is inspired by the great artists of the Renaissance. Another example: for the new Giorgetti collection this year, we chose quotes from artistic currents, for example, Bauhaus. I say "quotes" because the borrowings always vary according to our current tastes. In addition, some products are directly inspired by artists or works of art. For example, the sculptural forms of primitivism in art, reinterpreted in a modern way, became the starting point of aesthetic studies in the development of the Reiwa wardrobe system. The figurative language of Henry Moore's sculptures and the fabulous surrealism of René Magritte's works gave us smooth lines and defined basic volumes.

Spaziotempo table lamp from the Giorgetti Atmosphere collection, designed by Carlo Colombo

PM: Your customer is a sophisticated client with refined taste who is used to premium things. What is needed to constantly keep the ego "in tune", will you be surprised?

D.V.: Our goal is to create timeless products that are relevant today and will remain so in the future. We always study the details that matter, what makes a piece of furniture unique. The production process is internationalized, and since the company has full control over it, the quality standards we guarantee are extremely high.

PM: In the world of dynamically changing fashion, furniture also responds to trends. And slower than, for example, jewelry or clothing, but faster than landscape and architecture. Your company creates timeless things. In your opinion, buying furniture is an emotional, spontaneous process or does it require a balanced, conscious approach? To what extent should interior items be "static" today, based on your philosophy?

D.V.: When developing new products, our goal is to embody timeless things. If you look at the Giorgetti collection in our showrooms, you will notice that we always combine new products with cult items created in the 2010s, 90s, even in the 80s. At the same time, each product is modern: we don't just want to follow trends, but we want to keep our Giorgetti style. The process of buying furniture is simultaneously emotional, spontaneous and conscious, balanced. Giorgetti's client is a connoisseur who, realizing elegance, quality and uniqueness, is ready to surround himself with artistic and exclusive works, which are also extremely functional. He or she requires maximum attention and care — from the smallest details to the largest projects.

For the new Giorgetti collection this year, we have chosen quotes from artistic currents

Host bar table, designer Adam Tykhany

Janet chair, designed by Umberto Asnago

PM: During the quarantine associated with the pandemic, people found themselves in closed spaces, slowed down, began to look more closely at the details and pay more attention to the interior items around them. Slow living has always been the norm for Italians, right? Did this situation somehow affect your work, and if so, how? Is Giorgetti furniture for slow living?

D.V.: I would say, for bella vita — because of the beauty and pleasure that we always seek. We are busy and creative people, always full of ideas that we want to implement immediately. In particular, isolation was a very stressful period for Giorgetti and the entire furniture industry. This gave us the opportunity to rethink and develop, to search for new ways of working, communicating and living. During the lockdown, we created a new channel on our website to share movies, videos and events. We realized a series of short films and, thanks to the latest technologies, held a presentation of the 2020 collection in a virtual villa completely designed by Giorgetti, launched interviews with designers and company employees. Giorgetti furniture is created for bella vita — to enjoy beauty and pleasure.

Giorgetti furniture is created for bella vita — to enjoy beauty and pleasure

Loop armchair, designed by Ludovika and Roberto Palomba

PM: Henry Dreyfuss, who once invented the language of pictograms, made design a way of communication. In the era of digital technologies, people actively use social networks for communication: for advertising, self-promotion, and simply to communicate ideas to the outside world. It is possible to say that with the help of these means, a person translates his personal life into a public one. At the same time, furniture, dishes, interior items are "transported" together with it. Is design a way of communication for you? Is furniture as an object of design an instrument of some kind of translation of ideas to the outside world? What does the Giorgetti factory say about the modern world through its products?

D.V.: Of course, design is a way of communication. Each object is an instrument of self-expression to the world. Telling the world about the 122-year history is a privilege, it is a story about the combination of tradition and modernity, exclusivity and atypical uniqueness, the search for perfection, passion for details, a story about aesthetic innovations, a combination of technology and craftsmanship, about production in Italy, about luxury and about many friends

Miyabi storage system, Giorgetti design

Giorgetti Atelier Millano interior

PM: It is clear that there is no one-size-fits-all formula for success, but what would you advise aspiring designers based on your experience? What helps your company in its work? What fundamental values ​​and guidelines do you rely on?

D.V.: First of all, it is always useful to observe what other designers are doing, to try to understand what their characteristics are, drawing inspiration from their works or choosing a completely different path. We need not just good designers, but designers who suit us. Designers who are ready to listen to our story and understand how important our own heritage is to us. Designers who take the typical characteristics of our products and make them their own, interpreting them in their own way. The result is always a perfect combination of Giorgetti style and designer style.

 

Interviewed by Maria Golubka