Vico Magistretti — The Poet of Italian Design

A Milanese in the world

Ludovico “Vico” Magistretti (Milan, 1920–2006) is one of the most beloved and sought-after names in post-war Italian design. An architect by training, he became one of the most prolific and influential designers of his generation, capable of creating objects that seem as if they have always existed: forms so natural and necessary they appear inevitable.

His career developed in parallel with the Italian economic miracle, and his furniture and objects became symbols of a modern, cultured Italy, capable of blending beauty and function with a characteristically Milanese lightness.

The Magistretti method: designing with words

Magistretti was famous for an unusual working method: he described his projects verbally, using just a few essential words, leaving craftsmen and manufacturers the task of interpreting them. “If you can't explain an object over the phone,” he used to say, “it means it isn't simple enough.”

This philosophy of radical simplicity produced some of the most iconic objects of 20th-century Italian design.

Iconic works

Magistretti's catalog is extraordinarily rich. Among the most famous pieces:

• Carimate (1959, Cassina) — a red lacquered wooden chair with a woven straw seat, originally created for the Carimate Golf Club. Simple, elegant, perfect.
• Selene (1969, Artemide) — an injection-molded plastic chair, revolutionary for its construction technique: a single piece without joints.
• Atollo (1977, O-Luce) — a table lamp in lacquered aluminum, composed of a cylinder and a hemisphere. It won the Compasso d’Oro in 1979 and is still in production today.
• Maralunga (1973, Cassina) — a sofa with an adjustable backrest, Compasso d’Oro 1979. A classic of Italian residential furnishing.
• Sindbad (1981, Cassina) — an armchair inspired by a blanket thrown over a horse: soft, enveloping, unexpected.

The relationship with great Italian manufacturers

Magistretti collaborated for decades with the most important Italian design companies: Cassina, Artemide, O-Luce, De Padova, Flou. Every collaboration produced objects destined to become classics, pieces that still today populate the homes of those who recognize the quality of design.

With De Padova in particular, the bond was profound: Magistretti helped build the identity of the Milanese brand with a series of pieces that perfectly embody the sober and refined aesthetic of Lombard design.

Collecting Magistretti today

Original Magistretti pieces — especially the early Cassina and Artemide editions from the '60s and '70s — are highly sought after today in international auctions and vintage design markets. The original Carimate chair, early Selene models, and vintage Atollo lamps are objects of great interest to collectors worldwide.

Owning an original Magistretti piece means holding a fragment of Italian design history: an object designed to last, as beautiful today as it was on day one.

Magistretti and our atelier

At Dario Raia Vintage & Design, we constantly monitor the market in search of authentic pieces signed by the great masters of Italian design. When a Magistretti piece enters our workshop, it is studied, documented, and restored with the same care that its history deserves.

Follow us to be the first to know when an extraordinary piece becomes available.