Molteni&C aspires to become a global icon of masterfully crafted lifestyle solutions, creating unique projects while progressively expanding its dialogue with related industries in the lifestyle world. By crafting moments in which people can express their best selves, Molteni&C inspires and moves forward the culture of quality living.
When Vincent Van Duysen was appointed creative director of Italian furniture brand Molteni&C in 2016, his ambition was to both build on the brand’s history and shape its future. The Belgian architect had already been working with the Molteni Group with projects such as the Gliss Master wardrobe revealing the alignment between his vision and Molteni&C’s ambition. Creative directorship gave Van Duysen the opportunity to expand this vision beyond furniture: from Salone del Mobile exhibition stands, to flagship stores in Tokyo and Shanghai, and the expansion of the company’s headquarters in Giussano, Italy.
“Looking back on ten years as creative director of Molteni&C, I see a journey rooted in trust, continuity and a shared vision of the art of living,” says Van Duysen. “From the very beginning, there was a natural alignment in values: an understated elegance, deep craftsmanship, and respect for heritage combined with innovation.”
That sensibility can be found in the Augusto sofa, launched in 2023 and revisited in 2024 as part of a collection inspired by Milanese architect Piero Portaluppi and Villa Necchi Campiglio. The modular system features curved elements that can be arranged in circular compositions to encourage conversation. The timeless design is complemented by a contemporary approach to materiality, including recycled PET polyester fibre and innovative upholstery fabrics, including a vegetable-tanned leather derived from olive residue.
The following year represented another tribute to Milan. Van Duysen drew inspiration from Molteni&C’s own archives, specifically exhibitions and projects from the 1970s and 1980s to imagine a contemporary Milanese apartment. The elegant Aria writing desk is a key piece from the collection, designed to respond to the rise of home offices. In keeping with Van Duysen’s dedication to purity of form, the desk is shaped from a single folded sheet with an Ecoskin work surface and a concealed drawer.
“The writing desk has become an essential element in contemporary living spaces,” he says. “I had long wanted to integrate it into the Molteni&C catalogue, recognising its crucial role and reinterpreting it as an expression of that art of living.”
The Living Box sideboard is another highlight from the 2022 collection. Van Duysen wanted to create storage that evoked an architectural language and celebrated precious materials. The storage is framed at either end by “precious boxes”, divided by sliding timber and glass “Stripe doors” that are also used in Molteni&C’s Dada Engineered kitchens.
The crossover between Molteni&C and Dada Engineered kitchens is again found in the VVD kitchen, Van Duysen’s signature design for Dada. The clean, minimal design language echoes that of Molteni&C, with an interplay of different materials and a dynamic rhythm of solid forms and voids. Refined details such as finger-recessed handles, large pull-out trays, and under-counter trolleys maintain the linear language of the kitchen, while stone sink bowls add a sculptural presence.
Van Duysen’s vision for Molteni&C extends beyond interiors. In 2022, the brand launched its first outdoor collection under Van Duysen’s direction, bringing together original designs by Foster + Partners and Ron Gilad, and archive pieces from Gio Ponti and Luca Meda. “In the new outdoor proposal I pursued an idea of softness and wellbeing, of organic playfulness in an architectural vision of the furniture,” he says. “I was inspired by modernism to recall the idea of permeability and transparency between indoor and outdoor spaces, and that intimate connection with light and nature.”
By 2024, Molteni&C’s outdoor offering had grown to fully reflect Van Duysen’s vision for al fresco living. New seating and dining families were joined by the introduction of ceramics through a sculptural coffee table, while Yabu Pushelberg contributed a modular sofa system that introduced a softer, more fluid counterpoint to Van Duysen’s own more structured language.
With the partnership entering its second decade, Van Duysen’s focus remains on crafting an identity for Molteni&C that both celebrates its heritage and looks towards the future. “What has made this collaboration so meaningful is the freedom the Molteni family has given me to evolve the brand’s language while preserving its essence,” he says. “Our dialogue has always been open, rigorous and ongoing, allowing us to position Molteni&C within a broader cultural discourse on architecture and contemporary living, strengthening its presence on a global stage.”