At the upcoming Salone del Mobile in Milan, the "monobloc" chair—a typology often associated with utilitarian ubiquity—receives a refined update. Linnéa, the latest collaboration between the design studio NICHETTO and the manufacturer infiniti, represents a deliberate attempt to bridge the gap between high-volume industrial production and the emotional nuance typically reserved for limited editions.
The chair’s debut follows a technical milestone at the OMP Group’s facility near Treviso, where the first piece was recently pulled from its steel mold. For infiniti, the design-forward arm of OMP, the project is an exercise in leveraging forty years of industrial expertise in plastics and steel to realize Luca Nichetto’s vision of "material beauty." Nichetto, known for a narrative-driven approach, aims to elevate the functional object into something that resonates visually and tactilely without losing its practical grounding.
This partnership underscores a pragmatic shift in contemporary design: a "feet-on-the-ground" work ethic that prioritizes the marriage of craft and industry. By integrating the designer’s creative precision directly with OMP’s industrial infrastructure, Linnéa avoids the pitfalls of purely speculative design. It is a product of the factory floor as much as the studio, signaling a continued interest in how sophisticated manufacturing can democratize high-level aesthetics for the home and contract sectors.
With reporting from Cool Hunting.
Source · Cool Hunting
