THE TRUE EVOLUTION EXPERIENCE
The important anniversary of the 100+10 years of Poltrona Frau is at the center of the exhibition in the Flagship Store on via Manzoni 30, which is opening its interior courtyard to the city of Milan for the first time with the immersive sculptural installation, The True Evolution Experience. The installation was designed by young interior designer Greta Rosset, who artistically interprets the brand’s heritage, its present, and a future in sustainability for the Tolentino-based company.

The immersive space, full of plants and covered with large, mirrored tiles, evokes natural elements as they dematerialize, radiating into ether; an opening towards the city and the world through contemporary expressive language. The courtyard of the eighteenth-century Palazzo Gallarati Scotti becomes a new place of interaction for the Milanese public during FuoriSalone 2022. Inviting by day, this captivating environment can also be enjoyed in the evening, further enhanced by the evocative lighting design.

“The 110th anniversary of the foundation of Poltrona Frau”, explains Nicola Coropulis, CEO of Poltrona Frau, “is an opportunity not only to celebrate our past, but above all to talk about what we want to be. The last ten years have represented a turning point for the company, a process that has demonstrated it can keep pace with globalization. We have ridden considerable company growth and the renewal of the core business, today accompanied by a different way of representing and expressing ourselves that is in line with the changing times, while remaining consistent with our values and traditions. This is why Poltrona Frau is telling its story at FuoriSalone with the The True Evolution Experience installation. An immersive artistic work with a language that for us is innovative and surprising, open to the community and symbolic of a future in the name of sustainability".

The sculptural form
The natural influences in the installation speak to Poltrona Frau's sensitivity in adopting production processes that respect the environment and resources. At the same time, the tiles in reflective material recall the idea of technological and digital evolution, interpreted here in artistic form; a sculptural design that plays with the juxtaposition between the physical and material dimensions of the work and its communicative dimension, expressed in the external mirroring skin, which suggests the company's desire to open up to the world and reflect the needs of its customers. The surface dematerializes in the play of reflections like a dynamic element, always changing and alive, reverberating to the movement of people and plants moved by the wind inside the courtyard.

Immersive contents
The True Evolution Experience is an immersive experience. Its heart is accessed through a dark corridor, in which a play of lights leads to the central hall, covered with reflective and soundproofed surfaces, punctuated by full-height vertical LED screens. Digital elaborations, curated by videographer Mario Greco, are combined with shots created by the brand's Marketing & Communication Department. The images condense the numerical values of Poltrona Frau's activity in the tradition and renewal of craftsmanship and materials, in opening towards the world and in the commitment to more sustainable production. Supported by the ad hoc designed sound environment, abstract and evocative images alternate on the screens along with metaphorical and imaginative graphic animations which give rise to unexpected associations of meaning.

Poltrona Frau's past, present and future coexist within the space. The brand's experience becomes a tale of shapes and colors - from the curved lines that represent the needle to the colored lines that symbolize the stitching, then traveling into the pattern created by the artist Felipe Pantone exclusively for the upholstery of the Archibald Anniversary Limited Edition armchair; a vibrant and hypnotic digital graphic, which expresses Poltrona Frau's idea of “true tomorrow”. The last phase describes the link between the company and the environment, with an audiovisual climax of images and sounds from nature. The digital elaborations dissolve into hundreds of micro-screens, referencing the multi-faceted nature of Poltrona Frau, its processes and the complexity of the system in which its work is expressed.

THE 2022 TRUE EVOLUTION COLLECTION EXHIBITION
The Flagship Store on via Manzoni appears radically transformed, both in the natural, soft colors of the earth, and in the planimetric paths that play on platforms and steps, leading different levels and spaces. The reception area located at the entrance conveys the idea of an exhibition hall. There is also a new presentation of furnishing accessories and leather goods, to which an exclusive area has been dedicated for the first time.

Along the windows facing via Manzoni, a domestic environment has been staged with a living room area, a dining area and a bedroom. These show the leading products from the True Evolution 2022 collection, juxtaposed with some iconic and best-selling pieces from the Poltrona Frau catalog, emphasizing the evolution of Poltrona Frau's heritage. The new area dedicated to accessories and furnishings is punctuated by the iconic Archibald Anniversary Limited Edition, interpreted by artist Felipe Pantone in multicoloured printed Pelle Frau® Impact Less Leather. The space resembles as an intimate and elegant fashion boutique. Rich in sophisticated brass finishes, the space displays objects and leather goods in specially designed glass cases, as if they were jewels.

The new Souvenir d'Italie sofa by Ludovica + Roberto Palomba and the Lepli poufs by Kensaku Oshiro, interpreted in versions for outdoors, are central to the installation. These are followed by an area dedicated to contract and hospitality furnishings, showcasing both a home office and corporate office environments, revealing how Poltrona Frau furnishings can respond to the transformed needs of contemporary living.

The installation was styled by Simona Cremascoli, who defined all those very important details in the general mood. The graphics and some in-store displays were handled by the Poltrona Frau Marketing & Communication department for a more complete demonstration of the brand's values.

Overlooking via Borgospesso, the Ceccotti Collezioni area is organized into three vignettes: a living room, wardrobe area and dining area. The light tones and Japanese stylistic influences highlight the complex craftsmanship of the dark solid wood furniture, the identifying mark of the Cascina (Pisa) brand.

The exhibition also highlights the increasingly close collaboration between Poltrona Frau and Ceccotti Collezioni, which sees the use of Pelle Frau® Leather furnishings and furnishing accessories by Ceccotti Collezioni, such as in the limited edition for the 70th anniversary of the Stellage 52 armchair by Gabetti and Isola that was re-issued this year. The collaboration also demonstrates a strategic interpenetration between the two brands in the design of products, while respecting the identity of the individual companies.