MILAN — Between the two of them, it’s 200 candles on the cake.
Loro Piana is marking its centenary by celebrating the work and vision of legendary Milanese architect and designer Cini Boeri on the centenary of her birth. “A Tribute to Cini Boeri” will be installed at Loro Piana’s Milan sprawling headquarters at Cortile della Seta from Tuesday to April 21, displaying Boeri’s iconic pieces upholstered in the Italian luxury brand’s most exclusive interiors fabrics.
The pieces are produced by Arflex and “celebrate the most playful, joyful and contemporary side of the design idea that Cini Boeri embodied: furniture conceived to encourage the interaction of the individual with the domestic space,” Francesco Pergamo, director of Loro Piana Interiors, said in an exclusive preview interview.
Pergamo underscored how Boeri’s vision remains “extraordinarily contemporary,” and that the dual centenary offers the opportunity “to contribute to the appreciation” of her creative talent.
“We have chosen objects that highlight the functionality and modularity of Boeri’s designs, which were conceived to be used and to become part of everyday life.”
In the same way, Pergamo explained that even the most precious Loro Piana fabrics employed on the Boeri designs are “crafted to be used and appreciated. We share with Cini Boeri the concept of autonomy of the modern family, where each member has their own space, and her philosophy applied to the home presents similarities with Loro Piana’s textile concept, where the fabric becomes a sort of nest, welcoming and hospitable.”
The installation, designed in collaboration with Archivio Cini Boeri, follows one of the principles that led Cini’s work as an architect: the idea of a house with separate rooms with independent exits and a common area shared by choice, not by imposition.
In the installation, Boeri’s signature Strips system, which was awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1979, stands in the central room, while each of the surrounding spaces is dedicated to a family of products. Guests are invited to experience the pieces, to touch and sit on them. “This is in alignment with her teaching that furniture should be able to engage with users, adapting, and evolving according to their needs,” Pergamo said.
Iconic Cini Boeri designs — including the Pecorelle [sheep] sofas and armchairs and the Bobo and Boborelax armchairs — are revisited in Loro Piana’s precious fabrics. The Botolo high and low three-legged chairs are shown in the brand’s cashmere and silk Cashfur in a special caramel color in a limited edition of 100 pieces.
The Pecorelle chairs
Daniele Mango/WWD
“They are small but super comfortable and well proportioned, and have a special charm,” Pergamo said.
A pure undyed cashmere was chosen for the modular Strips sofa, and the Tiepolo wool for the Strips bed and Boborelax armchair. The Bobo armchair was upholstered in cashmere Sherpas in the signature Loro Piana Kummel color. The Pecorelle were upholstered in the unique trademarked Pecora Nera fabric obtained by working the dark-colored fleece of New Zealand merino sheep. “A touch of irony ran through these Cini Boeri designs, an irony I believe we share with her,” Pergamo said.
He also remarked on the connections between Boeri’s designs and Loro Piana’s fashion, such as the zips on the sofas, or the padding, and the references to nature. “There are many elements in common, the uniqueness of the pieces, the world of softness of her poufs and chaise-longues and the tradition linked with the future,” Pergamo contended.
He revealed that this is a three-year project, with the patronage of the Triennale Milano museum, which will stage a retrospective on Cini Boeri in 2026.
“We will have the possibility to reedit pieces that have never been produced before, to be selectively distributed by Arflex, so the perspective is long-term and not over with the Salone,” Pergamo explained.
Italian architect and designer Boeri over the years collaborated with the likes of Giò Ponti and Marco Zanuso, and in fashion also with Prada, for example, before setting up her own studio in Milan in 1963 and working with interior design companies, such as Knoll and Arflex.
The Loro Piana Interiors division was launched in 2006, initially only aimed at professionals in the sector but now also open to end consumers. It is also present in the yachting and aviation industries and in the hospitality area.
The Boborelax
Daniele Mango/WWD
Pergamo was previously director of women’s and leather goods product development and was named director of the interiors division in 2019. His and the division’s first main project was the renovation of Villa Cima, in the heart of the Villa d’Este park, in 2019, with interiors entirely by Loro Piana.
Giulia and Antonio Boeri founded Archivio Cini Boeri in 2023 with the aim of reorganizing and making accessible the work of their grandmother.
Arflex was founded in 1947 by a group of technicians, Aldo Bai, Pio Reggiani and Carlo Barassi, coming from Pirelli, and it introduced the use of foam rubber and elastic tapes in the furniture market, changing it entirely and transforming the production system of upholstered furniture from artisanal to industrial.
Last year Loro Piana Interiors introduced a project in a collaboration with Argentinian designer and artist Cristián Mohaded, called “Apacheta,” inspired by the Andean tradition.
