MILAN INTERNATIONAL FURNITURE FAIR 2013
Maserati and Zanotta present the Maserati Lounge Chair by Zanotta – a unique, exclusive project, previewed in Milan at the International Furniture Fair 2013, that is the result of the meeting of two stars of Italian style.
Created by the well-known designers Ludovica and Roberto Palomba, and produced in a limited edition, the new Maserati Lounge Chair by Zanotta is an article that encapsulates the spirit and values that the two brands have always expressed in their sector – exclusiveness, sophistication, comfort, refinement of materials, shapes and details, avant-garde design and a very high level of craftsmanship in the production.
The Maserati Lounge Chair by Zanotta, designed by Marco Tencone at the Centro Stile Maserati (Maserati Style Centre) under the direction of Lorenzo Ramaciotti, has been conceived as an homage to the new Maserati Quattroporte, with the ideal synthesis of luxury and sportiness, technology and craftsman quality. The Maserati Lounge Chair by Zanotta is equivalent to a compositional and creative virtuism of rare efficacy and value, marked by timeless elegance.
The designers Ludovica and Roberto Palomba, known for their ability to flank vast knowledge of the cultural roots of design with the needs of contemporary society, developed a project starting from the elegant shapes of the vehicle, enhancing its nature of a mobile lounge. The harmonious, dashing lines of the Maserati Quattroporte were analysed, broken down, reproduced and reinterpreted by the Palombas until the shape of the Maserati Lounge Chair by Zanotta emerged, opening the seat to enter a new dimension making it the star of all time for its imagination, memory and thought. The trip, narrated by Maserati and Zanotta, is that of ‘time in movement’ in a very wide meaning of suspended imagery that lives on perceptions, suggestions, projections, memories and expectations. A dimension extended towards discovery but also to a more intimate reflection in which becoming aware and imagining the future path also means not forgetting the starting point. This is what the Maserati Lounge Chair by Zanotta intends to be – a product of absolute excellence, an opportunity to create a moment ‘out of time’, an itinerary of the senses that is deliberately renewed every time you sit in a Maserati or relax in one of the precious Zanotta armchairs. Because ‘speed’, as interpreted by Zanotta and Maserati, is ‘thought in movement’.
Maserati and Zanotta are two brands that tell two great Italian stories – two different companies, which were both able to start from a local dimension to become international, remaining loyal to the original values due to their ability to create products which merit the successes and recognitions obtained.
THE PROJECT
recounted by designers Ludovica and Roberto Palomba
“The approach to this project was firstly sharing the values of Maserati and Zanotta – values like style, elegance, quality and performance. We wanted this product to have a DNA corresponding to that of these companies, primarily great attention to design and quality. The Maserati Lounge Chair by Zanotta is an article that has a considerable component of craftsmanship and manual work; we imagined it almost as if it was ‘a unique piece’. We took up the perspective image of a Maserati in the lines, retracing the fluid structure of the silhouette of the bonnet to give the mark of continuity.
The leather covering has a very natural feel; the inspiration for this coming from the softness of the gloves of racing car drivers in the past. The Lounge Chair is an exclusive product and we wanted it to transmit a feeling of immediate quality. We didn’t want to design a simple car seat or an armchair that adapted to this use… Thinking of the ‘If…’ game, we asked ourselves, ‘If Maserati was an armchair, what would it be like?’ We sought a mediation point between these two worlds.”
SPECIFICATIONS
Base: Rods of black polished or chromed nickel-plated steel
Filling: High resistance polyurethane and DacronDu Pont padding
Internal covering: Irremovable in nylon
External covering: Quilted removable in Extra 99 Zanotta leather in dark grey with light grey border, light grey with mud-coloured border or mud with light grey border.
The processing of the leather covering is inspired by the old ‘capitonné’ technique created around 1800. This is one of the noblest techniques of the Italian craftsman tradition in furnishing and requires great manual ability for its execution. The technique was given a modern interpretation for the creation of the armchair, simplifying it for greater visual minimalism (there are no buttons) and to obtain an extremely soft and comfortable surface in contrast with the tension and rigidity of classic capitonné.
The Extra Zanotta leather used for the covering of the Maserati Lounge Chair by Zanotta epitomises the excellence of quality and naturalness in the leather for furnishings sector. It is obtained using the very highest quality raw hides. It is full-grain leather, dyed in the vat with pure aniline colorants, not finished, which acquires beauty with time. It gives a feeling of great naturalness to the touch. Marks or imperfections such as scars, veining and slight differences of grain and colour – always found in the skin of an animal – can’t and mustn’t be considered defects but features that prove and enhance the authenticity and naturalness of real leather.
Every hide is a ‘unique’ piece with advantages and disadvantages resulting from its origin – nature. These imperfections are usually more visible in better quality hides as they are not covered by pigments or polyurethane films, and are the mark of the absolute authenticity, naturalness and exclusivity of this leather.
Like all the products of the Zanotta Collection, the Lounge Chair was designed to satisfy the highest standards of quality, ergonomics, safety, resistance and duration in use in the furniture sector. In particular, with reference to the stability, static resistance and fatigue resistance requirements, the armchair passed the tests set out by the International Organisation for Standardisation regulations ISO7170 and ISO7173 with full marks.
The Maserati Lounge Chair by Zanotta
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Where: Zanotta Shop Milano, Piazza del Tricolore, 2
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When: Opening on invitation 9th April, h. 7.30 pm
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Open to the public: 10 – 14th April, h. 11.00 am – 8.00 pm | Free entrance
