“I’d say that, within the past three or four years, Piero has given me more room,”
says Carola. “It’s a very open and honest conversation.” Her most significant con-
tribution to the company is undoubtedly her strong aesthetic sense: Her enduring
love of fashion and her own polished yet relaxed personal style get translated into
both the brand’s collections and its marketing materials. However, she also plays
a key role in business development and strategy for the company, which has grown
to 60 employees, doubled its revenues over the past five years and now reaches
markets around the world.
In Milan this past April, Lissoni was practically everywhere, with sofas for B&B
Italia and De Padova, lighting for Flos, tables for Porro and Knoll, a mirror for Glas
Italia and a kitchen for Boffi, to name just a few of his collaborations. It definitely felt
like his year. And with Living Divani, he was able to cap this extraordinary moment
with a plum assignment.
As part of the dual anniversary celebrations, Lissoni was invited to create a
special collection and exhibition. Carola’s direction to him was: “I give you carte
blanche. Do whatever you like. It doesn’t have to be related to furniture.” For the
resulting Uncollected Collection, Lissoni stayed within the furniture realm,
but barely, working with two opposing ideas, each with a strong graphic effect.
The result is almost the outlines of furnishings. On one hand, the collection
includes three very thin and ethereal chairs and matching tables made of steel
rod and aluminum. At the other end of the spectrum is a bulbous trio consisting
of a chaise longue, chair and low table in high-gloss cast aluminum.
If Lissoni took the company slightly outside of its comfort zone, no one
is complaining. “Living Divani is not just an upholstered furniture company,”
says Carola. “Merging with the world of art has always been important to us.
This was our chance to celebrate Piero’s creativity.”
When Lissoni first approached Carola to talk about his sources of inspiration,
“he sent me images of Jeff Koons’s work,” she says. Unveiled on the grounds of the
early-18th-century Palazzo Crivelli in downtown Milan, the brilliantly coloured cast-
aluminum pieces inspired by Koons’s iconic Balloon Dogs set up a dialogue with
their attenuated, insect-like counterparts, particularly the 440-centimetre-long table
balanced on multiple legs “like a centipede.” Shown within a maze-like pavilion,
Lissoni’s Uncollected Collection blended dreamily into the evocative setting, multi-
plying and merging with its surroundings through the mirroring effect of the floor.
The next step is to figure out how to bring the Uncollected Collection to the
art-furniture market, opening a brand new chapter in the Living Divani legend.
livingdivani.itPiero Lissoni created a magical showcase for
his Uncollected Collection in the garden of Milan’s
historic Palazzo Crivelli. Displayed inside a series
of linked pavilions outfitted with mirrored surfaces,
the furniture merged with the garden in an
unending play of reflections, shadows and light.