Mid-Century Model KD7 Ceiling Lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Kartell, 1950s

Brothers Livio (1911-1979), Pier Giacomo (1913-1968), and Achille (1918-2002) Castiglioni were born in Milan and worked side-by-side as industrial designers and architects.

In 1938, shortly after graduating from the Polytechnic University of Milan, Pier Giacomo, along with his brother Livio, founded a small architecture firm in Milan. They worked together with architect Luigi Caccia Dominioni to design interiors, furniture, and other objects, such as the Caccia Cutlery Set (1938) and the Fimi-Phonola 547 Radio (1939). Achille joined his two older brothers in their design practice after graduating in 1944 with a degree in architecture from the Polytechnic University of Milan. In the early years, the Castiglioni studio derived its main income from exhibition design, but they also restored buildings destroyed by the war, such as the Palazzo Della Permanente in 1952. Livio left to start his own practice in 1952; today, he is best known for his Boalum Lamp for Artemide (1970/71)—a light featuring internally lit, flexible plastic tubing—which he co-designed with Gianfranco Frattini (1926-2004).

Working in the midst of the Italian design Renaissance of the 1950s and ’60s, both Achille and Pier Giacomo were dedicated to creating visually appealing, yet technically innovative designs. They played a vital role in the foundation of the Compasso d’Oro prize, for decades recognized as one of the world’s most prestigious industrial design awards. Achille was also head of Facoltà di Architettura at the Politecnico, where he influenced a generation of Italian designers. Their legacy is still felt today, as they are among the most celebrated designers of the 20^th century—especially among diehard design lovers. Their prolific output included many collaborations with major Italian manufacturers, such as Flos for lighting, Zanotta for furniture, and Alessi for home goods. Other prestigious clients include B&B Italia, Bernini, Brionvega, Danese, Gavina, Kartell, Knoll, Moroso, Poggi, and Siemens.

Both Achille and Pier Giacomo were keenly interested in experimenting with new materials and techniques for industrial production. One notable example is “cocoon skin,” a material composed of sprayed polymer plastic fibers that solidified into a flexible membrane; the brothers initially saw a this substance used by the US military, and soon after acquired the patent. The Castiglioni brothers used this resin applied over a steel structure to create the iconic, cocoon-like forms of their Viscontea Lamp (1960), Taraxacum Chandeliers (1960), and Gato Table Lights (1960) for Flos.

Additionally, the brothers were eager to find inspiration in the everyday, and, as such, they often worked with found objects and components. Standout pieces in this vein include the Mezzadro Seat (1954-7) and Sella Seat (1957), both eventually put into production by Zanotta, and the Arco Floor Lamp (1962) and Toio Floor Lamp (1962), both produced by Flos.

Pier Giacomo unfortunately died early in 1968; Achille continued to work on his own until his own death in 2002. Today, many of the brothers’ designs are on display at museums and galleries around the world, including the Vitra Design Museum in Germany, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and the MoMA in New York. In honor of their achievements and contributions, over the course of their careers, they collectively received nine Compasso d´Oro awards. Today, Castiglioni lighting is highlysought-after on the vintage market.  

Specialized in luxury plastic furniture and decorative objects, Italian design brand Kartell was founded by Giulio Castelli (1920-2006) and his wife Anna Ferrieri (1918-2006) in Milan in 1949. The son of a plastics researcher, Castelli was attracted to experimental, new materials from an early age and went on to study chemical engineering under Nobel Prize winning chemist Giulio Natta. Ferrieri, meanwhile, studied architecture at the Politecnico di Milano under influential, neo-rationalist architect-designer Franco Albini.

In the early years of the postwar era, Castelli and Ferrieri were eager to contribute to their country’s reconstruction through high quality and innovative industrial design. At first the company concentrated on automotive accessories, like the K101 Ski Rack (1950). In 1953, however, Kartell launched its Housewares Division and began to produce the eye-catching, molded plastic interiors objects for which the company is internationally known today.

In the 1950s, polypropylene plastic was still widely thought to be an unusual material for domestic settings. Kartell’s earliest designs tended to be small tools for the kitchen. Highlights from this phase of Kartell’s history include the KS 1146 Bucket (1955), KS 1475 Carpet Beater (1957), KS 1068 Standing Dustpan (1958), KS 1481 Lemon Squeezer (1959), and Model KS 1171/2 Dish Drainer (1960), all by designer Gino Colombini and all in the permanent collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Colombini’s bucket was awarded a Compasso d’Oro prize in 1955. 

In the 1960s, Castelli and Ferrieri became determined to change perceptions of plastic by using it in the creation of stylish yet functional furniture and interior décor. The Habitat Division of Kartell launched in 1963 and led to the K 4999/K 1340 Children’s Chair, designed by Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper in 1964—the world’s first plastic chair and a Compasso d’Oro winner in ’64. The following year, Joe Colombo worked with Kartell to produce the bent plywood 4801 Chair (1965), Kartell’s only wholly wood product.

In 1967, Kartell inaugurated its new headquarters in Noviglio, designed by Ferrieri and, since 1999, home to the Museo Kartell. That same year, Colombo created Kartell’s 4867 Universal Chair (1967), the first chair made in a single piece using injection-molded plastic. Now considered a landmark of design history, the Universal Chair is found in museum collections the world over. Other iconic Kartell designs from the 1960s include Colombo’s KD27 Table Lamp (1967), Gae Aulenti’s Re Sole Lamp (1967), and Ferrieri’s 4966 Componibili Storage Module (1969). 

Kartell’s place in design history hit a new level when the company’s designs were included in the legendary Italy: The New Domestic Landscape exhibition at MoMA New York in 1972. Kartell’s molded plastic pieces fit perfectly alongside the space-age aesthetics of designers and studios like Archizoom, the Castiglioni brothers, Vico Magistretti, Gaetano Pesce, Ettore Sottsass, and Superstudio, who were all also exhibited in this vanguard show. 

In 1988, the Castelli couple decided to sell their company to their son-in-law, former managing director of Versace, Claudio Luti. After ten years in the fashion industry, the Italian entrepreneur took over Kartell and expanded the roster of contributing designers to include the likes of Ron Arad, Antonio Citterio, Vico Magistretti, Philippe Starck, and Marteen van Severen. As a result, the 1990s and early 2000s proved highly successful for Kartell. Standouts from this turn-of-the-millennium era include Arad’s Bookworm Wall Shelf (1994), Citterio’s Mobil Drawers System (1994), Magistretti’s Maui Chair (1996), Starck’s La Marie Chair (1998), van Severen’s LCP Chair (1999), Starck’s Bubble Club Sofa (2000), and Starck’s Louis Ghost Chair (2002).

Today, Kartell continues to serve as a benchmark in contemporary design culture. In recent years, Kartell has produced the designs of Front, Nendo, Patricia Urquiola, and Tokujin Yoshioka, to name a few. The company’s designs can be found in public and private museums around the world.

For more information, see Kartell: The Culture of Plastics, published by Taschen in 2013.