Fits like a glove: Minotti

For the 2020 Collection, MINOTTI is bringing to the fore its fine eye for detail and unconventional manufacturing methods such as sewing techniques borrowed from the world of haute couture.

By Minotti, GamFratesi, nendo and

Minotti

September 14, 2020 | 10:00 pm CUT

Rodolfo Dordoni’s generously proportioned, modular Connery seating system, which channels mid-century modern glamour, is one of the new collection’s standout pieces

Bolstering the eclecticism of Minotti’s latest creations is the varied palette of materials they’re made from. Supple leather, saddle hide, refined fabrics, wood, decoratively veined marble and metals in muted bronze and pewter tones are all essential constituents of the brand’s urbane offerings. Yet just as Minotti often favours neutral hues – typically grey, fawn and mushroom – these luxurious materials don’t scream for attention.

Minotti’s established reputation for high-quality upholstery also allows for a more experimental approach. Lateral thinking is encouraged during the conception and manufacturing of all of its products, coordinated by Rodolfo Dordoni and Minotti Studio. Open-minded as ever, Minotti recently hit on the idea of borrowing specialist sewing techniques deployed in haute couture in the belief that these can be applied to furniture-making, a can-do attitude that Dordoni describes as ‘enlightened’. ‘Often, when defining a prototype and seeking to achieve a particular detail, the Minotti brothers have told me: “For that, we need to buy a special machine used in the fashion world to sew clothing,”’ he says.

Top: The Connery seating system is original for combining circular and rectangular forms. Centre: Connery seating system with the Scandinavian overtones of GamFratesi’s Fynn. Above: Connery’s C-shaped flap shelves for resting drinks or storage

Minotti’s team now regularly use the words ‘sartorial’ and ‘couture’ to describe the precision and Italian expertise underpinning the construction of its comfortable yet clean-lined upholstery – further evidence of the brand’s commitment to manufacturing high-end products. Its upholstery is both functional and aesthetically pleasing: it reinforces the furniture’s structure and embellishes it with such subtle details as discreet stitching and contrasting piping in a variety of tones.

New pieces that embody this approach include Dordoni’s Connery seating, which not only evokes the mid-century glamour of Bond movies but nods to fashion by drawing on craftsmanship normally used when manufacturing high-end leather goods. This is evident in the leather that fronts the base of the seating. C-shaped flap shelves added to the end of sofas can be lined in leather or wood, while the seating’s slimline legs are made of polished aluminium, alluding to the metal components of classic suitcases and trunks.

Top: Rodolfo Dordoni's Blazer seating system and his sleek 1970s-inspired Mattia coffee table with steel legs overlapping the top. Above: Marcio Kogan's Daiki armchair, his Boteco coffee table and Dordoni's Blazer seating system form a harmonious ensemble

As its name suggests, Blazer, another Dordoni design, brings to mind traditional tailoring. Yet this elegantly geometric design looks informal, contemporary and inviting. Its comfortable seat features a softly quilted surface regularly spaced squares created using state-of-the-art stitching. In Torii, too, immaculate stitching and leather piping delineate and accentuate the sofa’s contours and convey an impression of comfort.

Such details and accents may seem marginal, yet they are essential to Minotti’s products, both helping to provide structural support and please the eye.

Top: An inviting, sociable living room furnished with the Torii seating system, armchairs and coffee table. Above: A group of Torii pieces whose metal bases nod to the traditional torii gates fronting Japanese shrines

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Meda, Italy