Poltrona Frau Group has named renowned designer Patricia Urquiola art director of its Cassina brand. She will work with leaders of the group’s other brands, including the creative management of Poltrona Frau and Giulio Cappellini, art director of Cappellini. The collaboration is a part of the work Urquiola currently directs with Haworth, the American holding company that acquired Poltrona Frau Group in 2014.
“Patricia Urquiola will have a significant role in leading this center of excellence, where she will contribute to defining the future vision of the group, whilst meticulously keeping the identity and characteristics of the companies unique,” said Dario Rinero, CEO of Poltrona Frau Group.
Urquiola’s first undertakings include the renewal of the brand’s midtown Manhattan showroom and preparing the programming for Cassina’s 90th anniversary celebration in 2016–2017.
“It’s a great honor and a great responsibility to become part of a heritage, a history, an identity so important for international design,” said Urquiola. “My intention is to take into consideration the company’s past, its cultural background, not as a passive container, but as a systematic part of the mind, the integration of processes and the creation of an empathetic relationship.”
