Molteni Mondo. An Italian Design Story
90 years of innovation, design, industry, and corporate culture. “Molteni Mondo. An Italian Design Story” is the first monograph dedicated to the identity, history, and values of the company founded in Giussano in 1934 by Angelo and Giuseppina Molteni.
After the worldwide preview held during Milan Design Week 2024, Molteni&C presents this monograph for the first time in France in the Paris Flagship Store, during Paris Design Week 2024.
Molteni Mondo engages international artists and curators to look at the present, past, and future of the company. An object-book inspired by cinema, opening with the set of the Compound in Brianza and closing with the master Gio Ponti and his Archive.
An unexpected editorial project, in language and style, curated by Spencer Bailey, writer, co-founder, and director of the media company The Slowdown, with art direction by Beda Achermann, a revolutionary figure in the world of fashion and for many years creative director of L’Uomo Vogue Germany, and the Hollywood-style author shots by Californian photographer Jeff Burton, introduction by Jean Nouvel, and postscript by Jacques Herzog.
“In 2024, our company celebrates its ninetieth year of activity“, says Carlo Molteni, President of the Molteni Group. “Studying its history, we realized that it coincides with the history of Italian design. It begins in 1955 in Brianza with the first Selettiva di Cantù, also promoted by my father Angelo – an exhibition that had architects of the caliber of Gio Ponti, Alvar Aalto, and Carlo De Carli on the jury, spreading knowledge of design in the area. In this important year, we want to share our goal for the future: spreading the culture of quality living throughout the world”.
It provides an overview of a Made in Italy story, focusing on collaborations with major players in the design world – Vincent Van Duysen, Ron Gilad, Jacques Herzog, Jasper Morrison, Jean Nouvel, Tobia Scarpa, and Patricia Urquiola, to name a few – the locations of the Compound in Brianza, where the headquarters is located with its community, production processes and technological innovations, craftsmanship and sustainability, significant prototypes and collections, contract projects and stores worldwide, archive, and museum.
The editorial structure is articulated like scenes from a film, exploring different subjects with exclusive images commissioned to Jeff Burton and narrated by texts from Spencer Bailey, Maria Cristina Didero, Salvatore Licitra, Emma Leigh Macdonald, Ali Morris, Francesca Picchi, Harriet Thorpe, and Janelle Zara.
Following the foreword by Jean Nouvel and the introduction by Spencer Bailey, there are chapters dedicated to the Compound, the conversation with Vincent Van Duysen, the architects and designers collaborating with the company, the Archive, Production, Details, Showroom, Kitchens, the Contract division, Flagship Stores, and the Museum.
After “Roomscapes,” featuring experimental spaces designed by Vincent Van Duysen and Ron Gilad, the book continues with icons and the story narrative, ending with the postscript by Jacques Herzog.
A special insert, dedicated to the Gio Ponti collection and the heritage of the great master, created in collaboration with Gio Ponti Archives, concludes the volume.
