Milan, Italy

Designed by Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia SpA, the 2021 Maxalto Heritage Perspectives collection opens with a re-elaborated style, recreated in its color tones, dimensions, materials and models.

What is proposed is a warm environment, with a lighter touch in terms of aesthetics; a coherent update, totally faithful to Antonio Citterio’s initial Déco ideal.

Underscoring the collection’s successful natural feel are principally the new colour schemes: the light tones of untreated wenge and oak, the bronze and chrome metal finishes, the burnished aluminium of certain structures.

Highlighted are the warm nuances of leathers and fabrics, enriched by top quality stitching.

The textiles in the collection, inspired by the 1920s and the work of Jean-Michel Frank, define a sophisticated, luminous ambiance, with textures and neutral-toned designs easily combined with abstract black and white graphics.

“My commitment to Maxalto began halfway through the 1990s, with a precise vision: an imaginary, French-style bourgeois theatrical scene,” states Citterio.

“With this in mind, my first products were created, bringing together the aesthetic and the functional. Certain points of reference contributed to making this scenario a reality: the vision of designers such as Jean-Michel Frank, able to soften the sometimes rather constraining geometries of modernism; the determination of the manufacturer and its team to achieve the utmost in quality; the expert eye of those creating these pieces through communication.”

Designs in the Heritage Perspectives Collection include classic Citterio sofas and chairs, featuring soft edges and comfortable proportions, upholstered in textile or leather, defined by a muted color scheme, imagined creating a warm domestic environment.

Then there are pieces such as the “Cuma” table, a linear wooden console that opens up thanks to a simple mechanism to become a dining table for up to eight guests.

Another contemporary example of transforming furniture is the “Max” desk described as “a classic bureau with a contemporary twist.” Max features a wooden desk with drawers perched atop X-shaped metal legs, the workspace can be discreetly closed when not in use.

“After many years of designing,” states Citterio, I am confident that the outcome has been the creation of a range of products totally in line with and faithful to the initial scenario.”

“Products which can freely roam the world and its homes, independent of their creator, having become a rich and varied reality in contemporary living which will endure with time.”

Project: Antonio Citterio Heritage Perspectives 2021 Collection
Architects: Antonio Citterio
Manufacturer: B&B Italia SpA