« When the global economy started to
tank in the 1979 energy crisis, Moroso
SpA looked set to fail. Patrizia’s
parents, Agostino and Diana, called her and her brother back from
their studies and asked for their help. “I said, ‘Okay, but I’m studying
art... what can I possibly do?’ ” Patrizia recalls. What she did then is
what she does best to this day — she art-directed a collection. “Within
a few months we had hundreds of prototypes. It was a strong collection
and a nice welcoming into the industry.”
Since then, Moroso has garnered a reputation as a visually articulate
company that derives pleasure from taking risks. The first designer on
board was Ron Arad, whom Patrizia met when he launched his ‘Big
Easy’ chair in Milan in 1989. “Ron was a hero, a superstar,” she says.
“I’d been following his career for six or seven years. When someone
introduced us, I said, ‘Yes, I know your work. It’s very good.’” Arad’s
first collection for Moroso, the ‘Soft Big Easy’ armchair was unveiled
in 1991; 25 years later, it is still an icon of design.
Despite a little black book the envy of all design fans, the designer
with whom Patrizia Moroso is most closely associated is ‘the other
Patricia’ — Urquiola. When the pair met, in 1998, Urquiola was
working anonymously for a Milanese design studio and churning out
good designs, but none of them under her own name. A mutual friend
encouraged her to get in touch with Patrizia, the pair hit it off instantly
and have been best friends ever since. “When I met her she was
a volcano of ideas,” Patrizia says. “Today she is more calm but no less
creative. In fact, if possible perhaps even more.” Urquiola puts it quite
simply, saying the doyenne “gave me credibility”.
“If I am a fan of someone’s work, I want to work with them,” says
Patrizia. “I love the talent of these people,
the way different minds look at the world, the
ideas they generate. I will never grow tired of
this.” The strategy pays dividends — Patricia
Urquiola’s ‘Lowland’ sofa from 2000 remains
a Moroso best-seller to this day, and almost
every year she breaks out a new design for the
brand. At Milan Design Week this year,
Moroso launched Urquiola’s ‘Belt’ sofa system,
which is a clever combination of the soft and
restrained. Trend alert.
Patrizia Moroso was in Australia in early
October to participate in a Design Speed Date
program, where 20 pre-selected creatives in
Melbourne and another 20 in Sydney got a few
minutes to elevator-pitch the most powerful
woman in design today.
In parallel, and in deference to her oft-quoted
claim that “we are basically making dresses for
bodies, which are chairs, armchairs and sofas”,
seven Australian brands ‘dressed’ Moroso’s
‘Smock’ chair (by Urquiola) and ‘Take a Line
for a Walk’ chair (by Alfredo Häberli). The
invited designers were Akira Isogawa, Steven
Khalil, Martin Grant, Gorman, Crumpler,
Nobody Denim and Kuwaii. VL
Moroso collections are available in Australia exclusively through
Hub Furniture. Visit hubfurniture.com.au.clockwise from top left: the deep red
floors of Patrizia Moroso’s home in Udine,
inspired by her visit to Uluru in 2003;
‘Carpet Reloaded’ kilim by Golran for
Moroso. A pair of ‘Take a Line for a Walk’
chairs by Alfredo Häberli. Patricia
Urquiola’s ‘Smock’ and Häberli’s ‘Take
a Line for a Walk’ chairs, dressed by
Australian designers; ‘Terreria’ shelving
system by Archea Associati; ‘Shadows’ kilims
by Golran. Ron Arad’s 1991 collection,
including his ‘Double Soft Big Easy’ sofa and
‘Size Ten’ armchair, put Moroso on the map.“I love the talent of these
people, the way diferent
minds look at the world, the
ideas they generate”
& DESIGN
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