Modernising a Masterpiece

Italian furniture brand Arflex brings a 50-year-old classic to a bold new world – outside.

- Eugene Phua

IT’S NOT OFTEN that one of the greats of Italian design and architecture, who has designed and created an icon of home furnishing, can boast of having a robust IMDb listing – yet here we are today. Mario Marenco has appeared on several Italian TV series since the early 1990s, in shows such as Bellezas indomables and La nocturna. Mind you, these were no cameos as he was a regular on these shows. But Marenco is probably more well- known and celebrated for his works, projects and collaborations with global brands including Poltrona Frau, Ferrari, Lancia, Alfa Romeo and Arflex Furniture. The award-winning architect and designer, who founded his own DEGW studio and agency in 1960, is the man behind an iconic series of Arflex sofas – so classic and inimitable that their design has remained largely unchanged for more than 50 years. Until now.