Kartell

Kartell is an Italian design and furniture company headquartered in Noviglio, in the Metropolitan City of Milan. Founded by Giulio Castelli in 1949, the company initially manufactured accessories for automobiles before moving into household furnishings in the 1960s. Its development helped establish industrially produced plastic as a credible medium for contemporary furniture, combining molded or formed components with strong color, compact construction, and a design language intended for both everyday use and visual impact. The company's transition into home furnishings began in 1963. A central figure in this period was Anna Castelli Ferrieri, an architect and designer whose work helped shape Kartell's reputation for technically innovative, practical, and visually distinctive plastic products. Kartell's furniture has generally occupied the space between mass-market household goods and collectible design: its products are industrially manufactured and distributed through retail channels, but are also promoted through collaborations with prominent designers and through museum, architecture, and design-media recognition. Kartell's portfolio has included storage systems, chairs, tables, lighting, seating, and other domestic products. The brand is especially associated with transparent or vividly colored plastics, sculptural silhouettes, modular furniture, and designs that make material and manufacturing processes part of the product's visual identity. Products such as the Componibili storage system and later designer-led pieces helped make Kartell recognizable beyond the specialist furniture trade. Its range has also included furniture by designers such as Philippe Starck and Ferruccio Laviani, among others. International expansion became more visible in the late twentieth century. Kartell opened its first United States store on Greene Street in New York in 1998. The U.S. division subsequently expanded its retail presence to cities including Miami, San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, and Los Angeles, while independent retailers also carried Kartell products. The company's retail approach has emphasized broad availability, multiple styles and colors, and prices intended to make design products accessible to impulse and lifestyle purchases as well as planned furniture buying. Kartell operates as a subsidiary of Felofin. Claudio Luti has been identified as the company's chairman, chief executive officer, and president in reference material. Ferruccio Laviani has served as a leading designer for the brand and is associated with a more decorative and theatrical visual direction sometimes described as 'Bourgiemania,' a term connected with the Bourgie lamp and related design vocabulary. Kartell's continuing identity rests on the combination of Italian design, industrial production, plastic expertise, designer collaborations, and a globally distributed retail model.

Kartell began operations in Italy in 1949 under founder Giulio Castelli. Its first business centered on automobile accessories, placing the company within Italy's postwar industrial and plastics manufacturing economy rather than the furniture sector alone. The use of plastic and other industrial materials gave Kartell a technical base that later became important to its design identity. In 1963, Kartell expanded into home furnishings. This change brought the company into the growing field of modern Italian furniture, where designers and manufacturers were experimenting with new materials, compact forms, modular systems, and industrial production. Architect and designer Anna Castelli Ferrieri was an important contributor to Kartell's development and helped demonstrate that plastic could be used for domestic products with both practical value and a strong visual character. Over time, Kartell became associated with contemporary furniture made from plastic, including storage products, seating, tables, lighting, and household accessories. Rather than treating plastic solely as a low-cost substitute for traditional materials, the company used color, translucency, molding, and surface finish as central design features. This approach allowed Kartell products to be recognizable in domestic interiors while remaining suitable for repeatable industrial manufacture. The brand's later history was shaped by collaborations with internationally known designers. Philippe Starck was among the designers associated with Kartell's product development, while Ferruccio Laviani became an important ongoing creative figure. Laviani's work, including the Bourgie lamp, contributed to a more decorative, theatrical, and historically referential side of Kartell's identity. The company consequently occupied a distinctive position: its products could be sold through mainstream retail channels while also being discussed as examples of modern design and collectible furniture. Kartell expanded its distribution internationally during the late twentieth century. In 1998, it opened its first American store on Greene Street in New York. The U.S. division later added locations in Miami, San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, and Los Angeles. Kartell also used independent retailers, with reference material describing a network of more than 150 U.S. sellers. This retail model supported the company's strategy of presenting products in several colors and styles and at prices intended to encourage accessible, relatively spontaneous design purchases. The company is headquartered in Noviglio near Milan and operates as a subsidiary of Felofin. Claudio Luti has been identified as chairman, chief executive officer, and president. Kartell's history therefore combines Italian industrial manufacturing, design-led product development, international retail expansion, and a sustained focus on plastic as both a technical and expressive material. Its contemporary brand image is built around designer collaboration, highly recognizable forms, and the distribution of modern furniture to a broad international audience.

1. 2006Death of U.S. division president Ivan Luini

   Ivan Luini dies in a vehicle crash while serving as president of Kartell's U.S. division.

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2. 1998First U.S. store opens in New York

   Kartell opens its first United States store on Greene Street in New York.

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3. 1963Expansion into home furnishings

   Kartell enters the home-furnishings sector, beginning the business transformation for which it later became known.

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4. 1949Kartell is founded

   Giulio Castelli establishes Kartell in Italy, initially focusing on automobile accessories.

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Italian contemporary design positioned between accessible lifestyle furniture and collectible designer goods, with an emphasis on industrially produced plastics, color, transparency, recognizable silhouettes, and collaborations with prominent designers.

• ComponibiliStorage

  A modular storage system associated with Kartell's use of molded plastic in practical domestic furniture. Its stackable or configurable cylindrical units support flexible use as bedside storage, side tables, bathroom storage, and general household organization. The design expresses Kartell's broader combination of compact geometry, repeatable industrial production, and accessible contemporary styling.

• BourgieLighting

  A decorative table lamp associated with designer Ferruccio Laviani and Kartell's more theatrical design direction. The lamp uses transparent plastic and an ornate silhouette to reinterpret traditional lamp forms through industrial production. It became an important example of Kartell's ability to combine a familiar historical reference with modern materials, vivid finishes, and a strong visual presence.

• Louis GhostSeating

  A transparent plastic chair associated with Philippe Starck. The design references the proportions and profile of a traditional Louis-style armchair while translating them into a contemporary molded form. Its transparency and relatively light visual footprint exemplify Kartell's use of plastic to reinterpret established furniture archetypes for modern interiors.

• MastersSeating

  A contemporary chair in Kartell's designer furniture range, recognized for its sculptural backrest and plastic construction. The form combines influences from several modern chair archetypes into a single interwoven silhouette. It reflects Kartell's practice of using industrially produced plastic to create expressive seating for residential, hospitality, and commercial settings.

• Bubble ClubOutdoor furniture

  A furniture concept associated with Kartell's outdoor and lifestyle range. The collection uses industrial materials and rounded, informal forms to create seating and related pieces suitable for patios, terraces, hospitality environments, and other casual settings. It extends Kartell's plastic-centered design language beyond smaller domestic accessories.

• 1998Establish a direct U.S. retail presenceStrategy

  Kartell sought to make its Italian design furniture more directly available to American consumers.

  What changed. The company opened its first U.S. store on Greene Street in New York and subsequently expanded to additional American cities.

  Aftermath. The U.S. business combined branded stores with a large independent-retailer network, strengthening Kartell's international distribution.

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• 1963Enter the home-furnishings marketStrategy

  Kartell had established itself through automobile accessories and then pursued a broader role in household products.

  What changed. The company expanded into home furnishings, using industrial plastics and design collaboration as central capabilities.

  Aftermath. The move transformed Kartell into a design-furniture company and laid the basis for its international reputation.

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• 1949Begin with industrial automobile accessoriesStrategy

  Kartell was established in the postwar Italian industrial environment with an initial focus on automobile accessories rather than furniture.

  What changed. The company developed an industrial manufacturing business that later provided a foundation for its plastics and furniture activities.

  Aftermath. This early industrial orientation became part of Kartell's long-term ability to produce design objects at scale.

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• 2006Ivan Luini dies in a vehicle crash

  Ivan Luini, who had led Kartell's U.S. division, died in a crash at age 46. Contemporary reporting noted that he had been discussing the use of Kartell's plastic furnishings in a hotel chain being designed by Philippe Starck.

  Leadership change
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• 1998Kartell opens its first United States store in New York

  Kartell established its first U.S. retail outlet on Greene Street in New York, marking a significant step in the brand's international retail expansion.

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• Kartell expands its U.S. retail presence

  Following the New York opening, the U.S. division added stores in Miami, San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, and Los Angeles and developed a network of more than 150 independent U.S. retailers.

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1. Kartell
2. Ivan Luini, 46, Innovative Design Executive, Dies in Crash
3. Kartell official website