Italian interior designers have accomplished some of the most amazing interior design projects ever seen even in the yachting industry.  Today we’re taking a little look at the careers of some of the most famous names in contemporary Italian Design.

From the ultra famous Dimore Studio or Antonio Citterio to more local but incredible Interior and Product Designers, Italy and Italian Design have always presented us with several strong and powerful examples of luxury and quality design works, inspirations and projects that put our imagination and design taste in overdrive!

Top Italian Interior Designers of Today

Antonio Citterio

One of the top names of today’s Italian Design is Antonio Citterio.  Like all the design legends that inspired his youth, Citterio started his career in Milan and like his hero, Gio Ponti, Citterio started his Academic and Professional life as an Architect. From 1987 to 1996, Citterio worked in association with Terry Dwan in several amazing buildings in Europe and Japan, but after many years spent designing buildings, Citterio also decided to follow the footsteps of Ponti and became a prominent Furniture and Industrial Designers!

In the role of Product Designer, Citterio helped shape the World and Style of some Top Italian Brands of Today, namely Vitra, Ansorg, Arclinea, Axor-Hansgrohe, B&B Italia, Flexform, Flos, Hermès, Iittala, Kartell, Maxalto, Sanitec (Geberit Group) or Technogym.

When it comes to yacht interiors we ‘ve picked Sanlorenzo 460exp Yacht, a project that Citterio took alongside fellow partner Patricia Viel. Organized in five levels this vessel features decks and floors clad made in walnut wood with dark brown leather inserts which follow the rhythm of the teak exterior. The leather, navy and brushed steel details create a sophisticated, comfortable and inviting marine spirit in the interior.

Armani

You can’t mention an Italian brand without including Armani’s name in the mix! One of the most marking entries by Giorgio Armani in the event has to be “The dream of living according to Giorgio Armani”, launched at the Armani Theatre. This exclusive event was an exhibition dedicated to all of Armani’s design projects, among them Queen’s Gate Place in London, the World Towers in Mumbai, the Armani Hotel in Dubai and Milan among many others.

When it comes to yachting projects the one that comes to everyone’s mind is Maìn, a yacht that the designer not only designed from top to bottom but also currently owns. This vessel has the imposing profile of a lean-and-mean war machine rather than a plump and jolly pleasure cruiser which took 30 months to build at the Codecasa shipyard and was delivered in June 2008.

Roberto Cavalli

Roberto Cavalli Home Interiors is a recurring presence at the world’s top furniture showcases. Last year the brand presented a unique furniture collection filled with sparkling shades of citron, banana leaf print, and new animal patterns. In this collection, there was the Key West Swivel Armchair, the Tahiti Chaise Longue and the Acapulco Modular Bookcase, all of them with tropical touches to them, derived from Roberto Cavalli’s vision, philosophy, and style.

Recently new images of the 28-meter yacht Freedom have been unveiled. This ship was a collaboration between Cavalli and fellow designer Tommaso Spadolini. The interiors were created by Cavalli himself and they feature fabric and leather finishes and bulkheads assuring the best comfort and luxury for the Italian designer who is currently the owner of the vessel.

Piero Lissoni

Italy at it’s best through the eyes, projects, vision and ideas of award-winning Piero Lissoni, the internationally known architect and designer with a vision for spaces, ambiances and time. Through his works, we will see the developing world of architecture in Italy and in the world reflected in his hospitality projects, furniture designs, and futuristic ideas.

Piero Lissoni was born in 1956 and is one of Italy’s golden boys. He is a world-famous architect and designer who graduated in 1978 from the very prestigious Politecnico di Milano. In 1986 He opens Lissoni Associates with Nicoletta Canesi and ever since that he has lead groundbreaking projects. Today his studio is made of a staff of over 60 people and has projects that cover all design fields such as architecture, interiors, industrial design and graphics project.

The Italian Architect has used his first year as art director of Sanlorenzo to rebrand the luxury superyacht company. One of the good examples of the collaboration between Lissoni and the yacht company is the SX-76 and SX-88  yacht models.

Patricia Urquiola

Top collaborator of Kartell and a regular presence at the prestigious Salone del Mobile event, Urquiola is one of today’s faces of French Design, but it’s also impossible to disassociate her name with the Italian Design Industry. In fact, Urquiola is one of the patrons of Italian Craftsmanship, in fact, in 2018 she was the Guest of Honor of Homo Faber, a top Craftsmanship Event in Venice where she presented a strong showcase of her Colorful Style mixed with the Craftsmanship Values of Italy, namely the love of this country for Hand Made and Elaborate products in Wood and Glass!

With stunning projects around the world, including Italy, Urquiola always manages to bring to her Italian Designs and Creations those inspirations that are at the core of her education and that helped her become one of the top designers in the world. From her award-winning project at Hotel Il Sereno in Lake Como to more residential Projects in Central Italy, Urquiola provides each Italian project with the passion and the style that characterizes but always adapted to the Italian Culture.

When it comes to yacht design, Urquiola has been working closely with Sanlorenzo. She’s developed the SD116 and the SD96. She’s also been recently involved in Celebrity Edge, a project that was mostly presented as Kelly Hoppen’s doing, however, Urquiola helped in the conception a lounge area located at the rear of the ship with a triple-height ceiling and a huge glass wall with almost 650 square meters of glass.

Ludovica and Roberto Palomba

Ludovica and Roberto Palomba are also big names of today’s Italian Design. They are the two founders of the Palomba Serafini Associati, a powerful design studio based in Milan, Italy, that was created in 1994. For the past years, they have been collaborating with the most prestigious design brands from all over the world, namely Poltrona Frau, and the majority of their products designed since 1994 is still in production, making them some of the most long-standing design studios in production in Italy.

And like Ludovica and Palomba or all the other names on this List, the very own Italian Style that characterizes many products from the Top Italian Brands can also be found in the heart of the architectural projects of one of Italian architecture biggest names: the award-winning Piero Lissoni, the internationally known architect and designer with a vision for spaces, ambiances and time. Through his works, we will see the developing world of architecture in Italy and in the world reflected in his hospitality projects, furniture designs, and futuristic ideas.

The Jolly Rodger is the most well-known yacht project from this duo. This is an example of a  dynamic and elegant look in a yacht with decks supported by a system of ‘equipped ribs’ allows the use of large windows. Not to mention the fact that the shipowner has an entire floor at his disposal on the top level.

What did you think about this article about the influence of Italian Interior Designers? Let us know in the comments!

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