1 Armchair UAM Chrom
Cassina
Inspiration
12/27/2023
Iconic design collection turns 50
Back in 1973, Cassina began selecting and collecting the most significant designers and iconic furniture of the modern movement under the name Cassina iMaestri Collection. Last year, in 2023, Cassina's iMaestri Collection turned 50 and celebrated by expanding the collection with iconic designers who made design history: Vico Magistretti, Gio Ponti, Carlo Scarpa and, in 2024, Charles and Ray Eames.
About Cassina
Cassina has been a major player in the design industry for almost a century, with a particular focus on modern design furniture in the premium segment. It is a prominent name in furniture design and has been a market leader since it was founded by Cesare and Umberto Cassina in 1927.
With a heritage spanning almost a century, the company is based in northern Italy and known worldwide for its production of exclusive designer furniture.
Cassina's success can be largely attributed to its ability to constantly innovate and to collaborate with some of the world's most prominent architects and designers such as Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright. Since 2015, legendary designer Patricia Urquiola has taken up the position of Creative Director at the company, maintaining its high standards.
Particularly significant is the fact that Cassina has had the exclusive right to produce all of Le Corbusier's works since 1964. This includes famous classics such as LC1, LC2, LC3 and LC4. The product portfolio also includes furniture by Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Gerrit Rietveld.
Designed by Rietveld in 1918, the 635 Red and Blue armchair is a masterpiece, with a black-painted birch frame and details in blue, red and yellow.
Another Rietveld piece, the Utrecht armchair, is unique in its design where the armrests become the front legs and the backrest becomes the back legs.
Cassina's iMaestri Collection was officially presented in 1973 with models by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. For some time, the company had already begun to analyze and select the most significant furniture by leading figures of the modern movement.
iMaestri had its origins in a process that began in 1965 with the mass production of the first four models designed by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand.
Over time, the collection has brought together some of the most iconic furniture of the 20th century with works by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Erik Gunnar Asplund, Charlotte Perriand, Franco Albini, Marco Zanuso, Ico Parisi and Giacomo Balla.
This year, Cassina's iMaestri Collection celebrates its 50th anniversary by expanding the collection with iconic designers who have made design history: Vico Magistretti, Gio Ponti, Carlo Scarpa and, in 2024, Charles and Ray Eames.
Vico Magistretti has created many iconic pieces of furniture for Cassina over the decades, including the Maralunga seating series, his most famous design.
Gio Ponti's collaboration with Cassina began as early as 1929 and lasted until 1963. It can therefore be said that his stylish products have set the standard for the brand. Two of the designs that became extremely popular were the modern Superleggera and Superlight chairs.
Carlo Scarpa refined some of Cassina's existing products but also designed his own furniture, such as the W01 table. The table is a typical example of Scarpa's attention to detail and love of beautiful shapes and materials.
Next year, Charles and Ray Eames will also join the Cassina iMaestri Collection. During Milan Design Week, a prototype of the Galaxy lamp was displayed at Cassina's Milan store in conjunction with the presentation of the Cassina lighting collection, whose origin was the discovery of Charles and Ray Eames lighting designs preserved at the Eames Office, the design studio founded by Charles and Ray in 1941.
Cassina continues to be a driving force in the design industry. NO GA introduced Cassina back in the 1960s and has been in close contact with the brand ever since, visiting the headquarters in central Milan and the production in Brianza.
Similar articles
Bond from Fogia
In Scandinavia, we are used to the fact that there are several flexible shelving systems and storage solutions to choose from, where different parts can be used to customise something that covers all everyday needs. Many people have grown up with shelving systems such as String or Elfa, which have achieved their popularity thanks to an extremely well thought-out design, good choice and relatively easy assembly. However, it is all the more difficult to get a shelving system to suit everyone's needs in terms of different styles, which therefore leaves plenty of room for competition.
To article
12/1/2022
Modernist masterpiece: The Eames case study house no. 8
1940s design America belonged to the husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames, whose playful and experimental approach to design created a whole new topology of furniture in innovative materials. The couple also designed their home, a modernist gem in Pacific Palisades, with room for great personality.
To article
7/8/2024
Jean Prouvé, the Multi-artist
Designer, architect, engineer and entrepreneur - the multi-talented Jean Prouvé's design is as relevant today as it was when it was created. 20 years after Vitra started producing Prouvé's now iconic furniture designs, they are expanding his collection by reintroducing both new colours and four pieces of furniture.
To article
9/20/2022
Bright ideas
In their studio in Brooklyn, New York, American lighting masters Roll & Hill handcraft lamps that border on works of art. We spoke to founder Jason Miller about how he manages to create lighting that stands out, surprises and illuminates a room in more than one way.
To article
12/3/2019
Bond from Fogia
In Scandinavia, we are used to the fact that there are several flexible shelving systems and storage solutions to choose from, where different parts can be used to customise something that covers all everyday needs. Many people have grown up with shelving systems such as String or Elfa, which have achieved their popularity thanks to an extremely well thought-out design, good choice and relatively easy assembly. However, it is all the more difficult to get a shelving system to suit everyone's needs in terms of different styles, which therefore leaves plenty of room for competition.
To article
12/1/2022
Modernist masterpiece: The Eames case study house no. 8
1940s design America belonged to the husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames, whose playful and experimental approach to design created a whole new topology of furniture in innovative materials. The couple also designed their home, a modernist gem in Pacific Palisades, with room for great personality.
To article
7/8/2024
Jean Prouvé, the Multi-artist
Designer, architect, engineer and entrepreneur - the multi-talented Jean Prouvé's design is as relevant today as it was when it was created. 20 years after Vitra started producing Prouvé's now iconic furniture designs, they are expanding his collection by reintroducing both new colours and four pieces of furniture.
To article
9/20/2022
Bright ideas
In their studio in Brooklyn, New York, American lighting masters Roll & Hill handcraft lamps that border on works of art. We spoke to founder Jason Miller about how he manages to create lighting that stands out, surprises and illuminates a room in more than one way.
To article
12/3/2019