Top Five Italian Designers for the Home

We continue to be reminded of how much Italy has shaped our lives through design, from iconic furniture to fashion-forward accessories, many of the most popular homeware designs stem from this European country. We pay homage by compiling the Top Five Italian Designers for the Home below…

Paving the way for home fashion, the iconic Italian fashion house created its first home collection in 1983 and have been creating a new one every year since. Credited as one of the first brands to take the catwalk to couch leap, Missoni have proven that fashion is as important for the home as it is for the runway. Rosita Missoni now sits at the helm of the Missoni Home label after handing over the reins of the family business to her children and grandchildren. She runs the home collections with a talented creative team, producing everything from bed linen, pillows and throws, to candles, dinnerware and outdoor furnishings.

‘Fashion is ephemeral and this is its great charm. Home is long-lasting like elegance.’ Rosita Missoni (The LuxPad 2015).

One of the most successful fashion led luxury homeware brands available today; Missoni Home’s 2020 Collection is the perfect way to bring color and style to every corner of your space, from the bathroom to the garden.

In 1921 on Lake Orta - a small valley in the Italian Alps renowned for its traditional metal & wood handicraft, Giovanni Alessi created the kitchenware brand Alessi. It has grown into one of the most well respected kitchenware makers in the world, and has worked with a star-studded roster of the best designers of our time, from the late Richard Sapper to Philippe Starck.

‘The idea of creating objects that are practical to use yet part of a bigger design picture is clear in the look & feel of every Alessi product. The extensive range of kitchenware, flatware & tableware allow you to effortlessly add iconic Italian style to your home that will remain timeless and not fade with passing trends.’ Alberto Alessi.

Currently in its third generation with Alberto Alessi at the helm, Alessi continue to push the boundaries of design, form and function. Many of their pieces are found throughout the world’s most prestigious museums, like Philippe Starck’s Juicy Salif which can be found in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Or one of their more recent collections, Circus by Marcel Wanders, is full of exceptional, limited edition, pieces to fill your home with design-led whimsy.

Known for his eponymous fashion line, this Italian designer is also renowned for his glamorous social life. Bringing his flamboyant nature into his pieces, the Roberto Cavalli Home collection is bursting with animal prints and luxurious textures.

Beginning his career by earning commissions from Hermès and Pierre Cardin back in the 1970s, it was his strength in the innovation of printing onto leather that first got him noticed. His career quickly took off and before long the likes of Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren sported his clothes on the streets of the Côte D’Azur.

Outrageous, opulent and iconic the Roberto Cavalli home collection is as fabulous as the world renowned Italian fashion designer himself. Like his infamous catwalk shows, his home collection is full of drama and decadence, nothing less than what we would expect. Covering bed linen and pillows to tableware and bathrobes, Roberto Cavalli Home is a fashion-led lifestyle collection that will bring glamour to every space.

A Milanese painter, sculptor, interior decorator and engraver, Piero Fornasetti the founder and namesake of this definitive brand was an unprecedented visionary whose work completely transformed the 20th century decorative art scene. He created over 13,000 products, and in terms of variety and diversity of decoration his production of objects and furniture is one of the largest collections of the 20th century.

During his long and successful career he created a world of instantly recognizable and unceasingly engaging body of work. Fornasetti’s magical world of luxurious and creative design is carried on today by his son Barnaba, and has grown to encompass even more designs and products. Like his father, Barnaba has successfully combined true artistic vision with a traditional and deep rooted artisan approach. Each item to leave the Fornasetti atelier has been painstakingly handcrafted by skilled craftsmen and maestros, with no two items ever the same. This stunning approach spreads across the vast collection of products; each creating an individuality in any interior they are placed in.

Founded in 1978 in Milan, Gianni Versace SpA (better known as Versace) is one of the leading international fashion design houses and a symbol of Italian luxury worldwide. Designing, manufacturing, distributing and retailing fashion, lifestyle and luxury homeware, their expansive portfolio includes haute couture, accessories, fragrances and home furnishings all bearing the distinctive and iconic Medusa logo.

Replicating the traditional Versace motifs; the iconic Medusa head can be found on almost all of Versace’s luxury homeware designs. A symbol of power, strength and beauty it encompasses the true Versace vision of tradition & classical nuance along with the desire to astonish with originality and style.

The fashion house’s signature opulent glamour has also been translated into luxury hotels in both Dubai and Australia’s Gold Coast. First opening its doors in 2000, the Palazzo Versace Gold Coast was the first ever fashion branded-hotel and has been setting the standard for all other hotels of its kind since.