The legendary Italian furniture design brand B&B Italia has recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding by Piero Ambrogio Busnelli. Now under the direction of the founder’s sons, this family business continues to maintain its position as one of the leading global names in contemporary, innovative design. This prestigious brand maintains its reputation for attracting the very best of Italian and International talent such as Antonio Citterio, Mario Bellini, Pierluigi Cerritos, Piano, Patricia Urquiola, Naoto Fukasawa and last but not least, the late, great, Zaha Hadid.
In addition to celebrating this historic milestone with a series of events, including a film,a book The Long Life of Design in Italy B&B Italia, 50 years and beyond editedby Stefano Casciani, the brand has staged an exhibition designed by Migliore+Servetto Architects in the Impluvium of La Triennale di Milano. In place of an anticipated event, placing furniture in the spotlight, the architects were inspired by technology to take an alternative route and present a spectacular cinematic installation interpreting ‘density’ by superimposing images on eight, tall, vertical cages.It is here on a digital ‘screen’ that we see elusive images of the iconic designers associated with the brand, interspersed with scenes from the production processes in B&B Italia’s Renzo Piano designed workshop in Novedrate, Como. The story of the brand is also played out on two video walls, including a signature photo shoot of Oliviero Toscani and his bare breasted model, Donna Jordan who posed on the “Le Bambole” sofa, a classic shot on a classic design by Mario Bellini in 1972.
Since its inauguration the ‘60s, B&B Italia has maintained its enviable position as one of the leading brands in designer furniture, always one step ahead of its peers in the competitive world of high end contemporary design.
