Vico Magistretti

Vico Magistretti

Italy, 1920 – 2006

For over 50 years, Vico Magistretti represented the rational face of post-war design, seeking timeless solutions to technical and formal problems. Based in Milan, Italy, Vico consistently produced designs that are as startling, spontaneous and original as they are logical and elegant. After studying at the Milan Polytechnic, Magistretti worked as an architect in his father’s company and began his career as a designer creating low-cost furniture for the inexpensive apartments built to house the homeless during World War II.

From the early 1960s on, Magistretti devoted his talents to furniture and lighting design for companies such as Cassina, and Artemide. His furniture was comfortable and informal, colorful and playful. Magistretti's experiments with plastic changed consumers perceptions of plastic. Once dismissed as a cheap, flimsy material, it became stylish and sophisticated. The 1969 Selene Chair was a simple design in sturdy ABS plastic with an S shaped curve in the leg that strengthened its structure. It was produced by Artemide in bold, bright colors and rapidly enjoyed international success.

Magistretti was, above all, a designer of great integrity and humanity. His elegant design solutions were always realized in the light of technological, economic and other practical concerns. Throughout his career he was an ambassador for design that does not perpetuate the “throw away” consumer culture.