“The day I make an uncomfortable sofa, it is no longer a sofa” says Antonio Citterio. For the acclaimed Italian designer, the simple edict reflects a design philosophy rooted in the joys of the quotidian — the basis for a decades-long collaboration with Flexform. “The story of my relationship with Flexform runs through everyday products and the normality of everyday life,” he says. The partnership has evolved over the decades while remaining influenced by a distinct combination of timeless elegance and comfort. This year, however, Citterio and Flexform have reached a new high-water mark in design, introducing an outdoor furniture collection of informal refinement.
A centrepiece for any outdoor living space, the Atlante sofa balances understated lines and a hardy, weather-resistant frame. The sofa’s generously plush upholstered cushions, accented with tasteful grosgrain piping, are paired with a delicately streamlined metal base, which is upholstered with tough, water-repellant elastic webbing. A marquee example of Citterio’s elevated functionality, the sofa is part of the Atlante family, which also includes stand-alone and sectional sofas as well as a daybed.
On a more compact scale, the welcoming Atlante daybed combines unshowy sophistication with intuitive versatility. Also svelte yet durable, it features a simple mechanism to adjust the inclination of its solid iroko backrest and optional aluminum posterior wheels that allow it to be easily moved into — or out of — the sun.
The Atlante collection’s upholstery is available in white, sand, grey and anthracite tones, while the epoxy powder-coated metal base of each sofa and daybed is also offered in a choice of shades. Complementing Citterio’s refined design, the finish options allow for playful contrasts or subtle tone-on-tone pairings.
While the Atlante collection exudes a quiet contemporary flair, Flexform has also reinvented a modern Citterio classic — the compact Carlotta armchair, first introduced in 1997 — for al fresco life. The design combines a streamlined stainless-steel base with woven polypropylene-fibre upholstery. It makes for sleek yet weather-ready outdoor seating, offering durability while eschewing the heavy proportions and cumbersome lines of typical outdoor furniture and emphasizing enduring style over cliché and passing trends.
Complementing the well considered sofas and loungers, Citterio’s Tessa bench rounds out the outdoor living space with a compact and flexible seating option. Part of the versatile Tessa series — which also includes an indoor armchair and a marble-topped coffee table — Tessa’s iroko wood structure and durable woven cord quietly catch the eye in any context.
Decades in the making, Citterio and Flexform’s collaboration elevates ordinary rituals. “When I think about design in general, a story of families always comes to mind,” says Citterio. “We weren’t looking for the spectacular. There is normality in the results,” he says. But as the timeless, expressive and contemporary new collection proves, there is no shortage of beauty in the everyday.
This content was published by Azure on behalf of Flexform.
Antonio Citterio seamlessly blends unparalleled comfort and exceptional style in Flexform’s 2021 Outdoor Collection.