Fornasetti: the creative concept of the campaign The syntax of making

With the three new collections, Fornasetti conveys the peculiarities of the "syntax of making" that underlies the creation of furniture, accessories and porcelain. The various steps in the Atelier's creative and production process are interpreted as segments of a syntax that composes a narrative about artistry. The elements that make up this story range from the detail of the craft techniques employed in creating the objects to the skill of arranging them in space to transform a room into a Fornasetti microcosm. Tying the parts of the story together is a narrative device that is dear to the Atelier's iconographic universe: namely the hand, considered both as an explicit reference to craftsmanship, translating creative thought into action, and as an image linked to a visual language that makes it the star of surreal and ironic scenes.

The three decorations

Giro di Conchiglie
This marine-themed decoration is inspired by one of the rooms of the villa in Varenna, a home once owned by the Fornasetti family on Lake Como, recognised as one of the ultimate decorative expressions of Fornasetti's language. Piero Fornasetti devoted himself tirelessly throughout his career to designing the spaces of the villa, from whole rooms down to tiny details.
One of the rooms was entirely decorated on a marine theme, with real shells covering the walls, furniture and chandelier. In the Giro di Conchiglie collection, the three-dimensionality of the design arises from the play of light of silver, applied manually in leaves by the Atelier's craftsmen. The striking trompe l'oeil of the shells is accentuated by the blue background, created using a special painting technique with a dripping effect.

Giardino Settecentesco
The decoration pays homage to one of the bedrooms of the villa in Varenna, characterised by the yellow of the walls that formedthe backdrop to two pieces of furniture decorated by Piero Fornasetti especially for this space in 1954. Giardino Settecentesco is characterised by its fantastical landscapes and buildings in neoclassical style that coexist in a world where nature merges with architecture, whimsy with precision. Available in three different colour variants, in shades of blue, green and yellow, this decoration transports the viewer to a mysterious world through its playful reflections and perspective effects.

Musciarabia con rose
The Musciarabia con rose decoration celebrates the Atelier's passion for meticulous geometry and black lines that intersect with the shapes and contours of the new creations. The presence of painstakingly hand painted pastel pink flowers softens the contrasting interplay between white and black. A skilful fusion of the rationality of the geometric figures and the poetry of the natural world.
The artisanal production processLike all Fornasetti creations, the furniture, accessories and porcelain in the new collections are the result of a long production process, every step of which is carried out strictly by hand in the Atelier in Milan.



Furniture and accessories are assembled, decorated and finished over the course of a production cycle lasting several months. The decoration is transferred to a lacquered surface by silk-screen printing, a technique invented in France in the 1910s and adopted by Piero Fornasetti in place of lithography for the creation of his pieces. Performed manually, silkscreen printing is at the origin of those black graphic lines that are a hallmark of Fornasetti.

Colour is also applied by hand by the Atelier's painters, who meticulously follow the original period colour schemes, painting with full vivid tones and drawing delicate nuances with softer shades. Once the work is complete, each painter personally signs the objects, which are simultaneously assigned an annual progressive number. The decorated surface is then ready to receive numerous layers of transparent lacquer, a process that seals the decoration, giving the product its distinctive shine and pleasantness to the touch.

As well as the furniture and accessories, the porcelain items are also entirely decorated and painted by hand through the application of silkscreen decorations, which are then finished by firing. This artisanal process is to thank for the uniqueness of Fornasetti creations, which end up becoming true artist's multiples. No two items, even those depicting the same subject, will ever be perfectly identical to each other.