Vico Magistretti, an architect and industrial designer celebrated as the dean of Italian modernism for his sculptural furniture and lamps, died last week in Milan. He was 85.
The recipient of many international design awards, Magistretti was at the vanguard of a group of post-war Italian designers who helped define the sleek look of the 1960s. He was among the first designers to create home furnishings out of plastic, which helped make high style easily reproducible in quantity, bringing it within reach of the general public.
Among his most recognizable designs is the Carimate chair, which — with its simple, airy frame, rush seat and elegant concave arms — became ubiquitous in cafes and living rooms worldwide. His best-known lamps include the Eclisse (“eclipse”) table lamp, which features an illuminated globe that can be rotated to give off varying amounts of light.
One of his most enduring creations is the Atollo, a table lamp most commonly made of metal, now in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Another creation, the Chimera, is a floor lamp made of a sheet of twisted white plexiglass nearly six feet high.
His Silver chair is an homage to a classic design by Marcel Breuer from the 1920s. In Magistretti’s rendition, Breuer’s wooden frame has been replaced by aluminum; the seat and back of woven cane have become perforated plastic.
His Sinbad chair derived from a visit to an equestrian shop in London. He was captivated by a display of woolen horse blankets. He bought the lot and used Velcro to secure the blankets to wooden frames.
Vico Magistretti was born in Milan in 1920. His father was an architect, and the son followed, earning an architecture degree from the Milan Polytechnic Institute in 1945.
Beginning in the 1950s, Magistretti designed buildings in Milan and elsewhere, including offices, private homes and a church. But by the early 60’s, his attention turned increasingly to interior furnishings.
Magistretti’s death came just four days after that of Ivan Luini, the founder and president of Kartell U.S., who died in a plane crash. Kartell U.S. is the New York-based subsidiary of the Italian company Kartell S.p.A., which manufactures many of Magistretti’s designs.