Monica Gasperini x IEO - MONZINO Foundation

Exuding a sophisticated yet modern style, the artisan ​Monica Gasperini debuts on Artemest a new collection of seating in a brand new color palette. The artisan designed the Dream armchairs series delivering modern lines in a revisited art-deco style. The original design is directly inspired by the limited edition ​Aqva Swing Armchair Monica created for Artemest Fuorisalone's event ​AQVA in 2021. Keeping sustainability at heart, the architect and designer chose to develop these pieces completely with reusable materials.

Have access to an exclusive with Monica herself, talking about the process behind the creation of the new collection, the unusual color palette, and the partnership with IEO - MONZINO Foundation in collaboration with Nicoletta Saracco for the Artemest exclusive ​Bloom armchair.

​The encounter between fashion and design is ever-present in Monica Gasperini's signature collections. How did the inspiration for the new armchair collection Dream arise?

Fashion, together with ancient, modern and contemporary art, are my calling and a constant source of great inspiration and research.

In recent years, feathers have been gradually featured on the catwalks and mesmerized me, capturing my attention with their beauty, history, and symbolism - they are the inspiration behind my new armchair collection Dream. My interest in feathers is not limited to their wondrous evolution: in fact, we have used feathers to adorn our clothing since the beginning of human history, and they resurface time and time again in myths and cosmogonies, symbols, and legends of every civilization.

Rather, it is their weightlessness that fascinates me, their airy elusiveness, that has made them emblems of freedom. Therefore, the feather - a symbol of lightness, refinement, gentleness, and sensuality - has spanned the course of our history maintaining a strong association with the idea of elegance, power, and wealth, all with a grace that has allowed it to make a lasting impression. The Dream Collection of armchairs is what was missing in the design world, that poetic and sometimes artistic touch that adds lightness, irony, and freshness.

​Inspired by the Swing Armchair designed for Artemest on the occasion of AQVA, the Dream Armchair’s color palette is dominated by bright and eye-catching hues. How did you select these hues?

My exploration of contemporary elegance leads to experimenting with new materials and colors. Historically, colors have been woven into anecdotes, applications, and implications, with fashion and design often playing a role in defining the customs of specific eras. Colors are mutable: they either illustrate changes or deeply mark them.

I selected the hues of the Dream armchairs specifically to tell the story of the times we are living in. To the comforting quality of neutral tones - still in various nude gradients to reinforce its versatility - I added a “pursuit of happiness” expressed through color. In recent years, we have moved from neutral hues to a marked need for bold, bright, and joyful colors. The Dream Collection’s colors are an invitation to express oneself, one's personality: soft, pop, or artificial, including the mastery of fashion colors, these hues will complement the desire to express oneself in the real or virtual world.

Sustainability seems to be an integral part of your creations. What eco-friendly processes were used to make these pieces?

Dream is a sustainable design collection both in its upholstery and filling. Sustainability is a cultural journey; a theme very dear to me that stems from the urgency of protecting our planet from high levels of pollution by rediscovering the importance of respecting materials and their transformation (during production). In fact, the materials used for the collection are eco-friendly, starting from waste reduction and control of energy consumption and emissions, to creative recycling and reuse practices, taking into account the entire life cycle of the product. The upholstery fabrics are made from 100% recyclable materials.

Furthermore, I have paid special attention to ethical sourcing with regards to the feathers, which lend a light and ethereal allure to the Dream Collection. The collection is offered in a range of beautiful variants that employ natural fibers to recreate the imperceptible details that elevate it to the very realm of sustainability and respect for the environment. The decision was to evolve in a direction that is not harmful to animals and does not cause any suffering. This is precisely why I chose ostrich feathers for these alluring, sophisticated, and elegant pieces.

​Monica Gasperini
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​IEO - MONZINO Foundation

In collaboration with the European Institute of Oncology (IEO), Monica Gasperini takes part in the ​IEO GOOD VIBES - ON THE ROAD, an itinerary project born to raise awareness and funding for ​IEO - ​MONZINO​ Foundation whose mission is to provide medical expertise to those in need around Italy.

In an exclusive with Artemest, the artisan presents Bloom, an armchair developed in collaboration with Nicoletta Saracco who added her famous Madonna design onto the seating. The product is entirely made with sustainable materials aiming at waste reduction, and monitoring of energy consumption and emissions.

Read through a brief interview with Monica Gasperini about this incredible collaboration.