QUART ERLY - P.I. 31/07 /2019 - Intern Poste Italiane S.p.a. ationa l € 10, Chf - Spedizione in Abbonamento Postal 10,50 , UK £ 7,50 e - 70% - LO/MI
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PEARL ISSUE - n° 17 - 2019 - € 10
The Art of Sailing
Turquoise 77m Go
[ TREND SETTERS ]
EVERY PROJECT MUST BE A NEW ADVENTURE by Marta Bernasconi
An established new-generation designer, he works with prestigious furniture brands like Hermès, and his ideas also shape sail yacht interiors. He studied in Stockholm but is Venetian through and through. And on his home turf he has learnt the meaning of real luxury – high quality
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Ilenia Martini
A series of projects by Luca Nichetto. Opposite page, the Hai lounge chair produced by Hem and the Troag suspension lights for Foscarini. This page, several configurations of the Jord sofa system designed for Fogia, and a portrait of the designer
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[ TREND SETTERS ] designer began work in the artistic glass factories studying Industrial Design. The experience gave him an important heritage. “The Murano furnaces were an incredible training ground for me. In a place where the temperatures could reach 1,000 degrees and where you can shape glass with a simple touch, you have to make decisions very quickly. But above all it enriched my life from the point of view of personal relationships. It’s there that I learnt what creating a project through teamwork really means”. Nichetto has a very open mind when it comes to designing, and he likes to transform every new commission into a new adventure. He quotes a master on the subject. ”I always like remembering that I’m an Italian designer through and through. I identify with the words of Vico Magistretti when he says that the designer is the father and the company the mother of the product to be made. To me it’s important that we take the product’s unique nature as a given, and that it’s possible to create a relationship with the commissioning company, enabling me to ask questions and to understand what’s needed. This curiosity leads to knowledge, and that enables me to understand how I can express my creativity”. At the moment Luca Nichetto is working for Hermès, supervising the installation project at the brand’s Hong Kong store – and objects in Murano glass will feature
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contemporary designer, versatile, excited by the new. Luca Nichetto puts his name to projects and products for the largest companies in the design
and furnishing industry, ranging from small scale objects to providing consultancy services for entire interiors, acting as art director. We found him in his studio in Stockholm, where he has worked since 2011 and where he lives with his family. Luca Nichetto, though, was born in Venice, Murano to be exact, the island of master glassmakers whose skills are the envy of the world. The
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A series of projects by Luca Nichetto. Opposite page, the Hai lounge chair produced by Hem and the Troag suspension lights for Foscarini. This page, several configurations of the Jord sofa system designed for Fogia, and a portrait of the designer
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[ TREND SETTERS ]
The designer’s recent projects include the interior of the Hermès store in Hong Kong and the portable rechargeable Lucerna outdoor lamp for Ethimo
in the display windows. He has an intimate experience of the world of high-end products, and holds interesting views on the nature of luxury design. “To me, luxury is closely linked to high-quality manufacture and artisanality, which I think are vital assets for Italy’s success. Italian craftmanship has close ties to a luxury I regard as sustainable, for two reasons, above all because as a designer I work with artisans whose skills would otherwise disappear. Secondly, in a world so dazzled by the idea of a flaunted, photographed beauty that’s often fake, really beautiful, high-quality objects also have an educational value”. The designer could be said to have been born on the water, and naval design exerts a pull that can’t be ignored. “As a native of Murano, this sector has a strong attraction for me. When I was young I helped produce lamps for cruise ships, I worked on the creation of a yacht cabin concept and I was brought in to advise on sail yacht interiors. I think that I’ve acquired, as a designer and as a studio, the maturity to take on a range of yacht design projects”. Meanwhile, Nichetto divides his time between his studio in Stockholm and his base in Venice, where he returns once a month to handle work that comes in from all over the world. As well as working for Hermes, he has recently created a special seam-less sofa upholstery for the Spanish company Sancal, which will be seen at the next Milan furniture show. He will soon be involved with a prestigious American piano-making company. Luca Nichetto is a designer who loves working in high-quality manufacture, and the industry has responded with enthusiasm.
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