A Life In Design - Fabio Novembre

Champion of iconicism in Italian design, Fabio Novembre, in a candid conversation about its international language and his role as Art Director, Driade at the Italian Creation Group.

- Mridula Sharma

Rewind twenty years ago, the fancy red seating at Oxford Bookstore (at The Statesman Building, New Delhi) and its Chai Bar was a crowd puller. That was only one of his iconic pieces that sparked a design curiosity for its bold fluidity of form and colour, besides of course the impeccable finish and ergonomics. The statement made through that piece, the AND sofa designed for Cappellini lingered on in the visitors’ mind. Lauded for expressive design, Fabio Novembre, who trained as an architect has designed across the spectrum — right from accessories to buildings. We spent a generous hour with him and Giuseppe di Nuccio, CEO of Italian Creation Group, to talk about Italian design and their plans for India.

Your thoughts on the current state of Italian design?

For the longest, Italian design has been recognised for its iconicism in the international market. Ernesto N Rogers had said in 1952 ‘from a spoon to a city’, is what we Italians are famous for! Lately, we have been seeing a lot of straight-lined minimalistic furniture out there in the retail market. After a point, it begins to look monotonous and lack-lustre.