Plastic & Poetry: Kartell and the art of plastic

Seven decades of innovation, family legacy and the art of endless reinvention – few brands have shaped plastic in such an innovative and pioneering way as Kartell. Once dismissed and now rediscovered, the long-established Milan-based company is constantly exploring the possibilities of processing – and has now become an iconic brand characterised by family passion, pioneering technology and easy playfulness.

In 1949, chemical engineer Giulio Castelli founded the company Kartell in Milan – the first product on the market was a ski rack for cars. It wasn’t long before the young brand revolutionised post-war design by transforming plastic into high-quality furniture – a novel approach at the time. Castelli’s wife, the architect Anna Castelli Ferrieri, became a design pioneer in her own right, creating modular storage systems that are still timeless today. The 1988 takeover by Claudio Luti, Castelli’s son-in-law, marked a turning point. Collaborations with the likes of Philippe Starck, Patricia Urquiola and Ron Arad catapulted Kartell into the stratosphere of luxury, combining Versace-esque flair with industrial strength.

The journey to the top

Luti’s headquarters in Noviglio, designed by Anna Castelli Ferrieri and Ignazio Gardella, is a modernist marvel – a 2,500-square-metre complex that houses offices, production and the Kartell Museum. Claudio’s children, Lorenza and Federico, represent the future of the brand. Lorenza developed her strategic skills at Zegna and is driving global expansion, while Federico’s commercial acumen guides the company’s operations in over 120 markets. The siblings are likeable and grounded, operating under the mantra of ​“companies are a social good – inheritance requires skills.”

Icons for eternity

When it comes to bold design and the continuous development of materials, Kartell relies on the best in the business. The catalogue reads like a who’s who of the design world. In 2002, Philippe Starck designed the Louis Ghost, a baroque throne-inspired chair made of transparent polycarbonate that was intended to democratise luxury. In 2004, baroque style met plastic once again for Ferruccio Laviani’s Bourgie lamp. Ron Arad’s 1994 Bookworm bookcase is a revolutionary snake-shaped storage solution that takes inspiration from a sculpture. Today, the company is reinterpreting its masterpieces in a contemporary way as part of its recycled line, using a biopolymer called Bio Componibili. This biopolymer is made from raw materials from renewable non-GMO agricultural sources that are not intended for the food chain. This commitment to sustainability and environmental protection is also documented in the industrial manifesto ​‘Kartell Loves the Planet’.

Textile meets plastic: a new material language

Kartell’s Liberty London collaboration redefined plasticity in 2024. Studio Laviani reimagined the Plastics sofa and the Cara armchair with Liberty’s archive florals and an outdoor design. ​“This is alchemy,” says Lorenza. ​“Their patterns, our technology – a dialogue between the creativity of London and the innovation of Milan.”

Collaboration now: from Starck to Kravitz

With over 30 collaborations, Philippe Starck leads the way at Kartell, but the latest partnerships strike a balance between tradition and the zeitgeist. In addition to Liberty London, which combines Victorian prints with space-age shapes, the eccentric Lenny Kravitz design for limited-edition lighting (2023) is a real eye-catcher. Kartell made the leap into the fashion industry with a crossover that saw Moschino, Lacroix and N°21 bring haute couture to the world of household goods.

Alice’s Flowers

Kartell’s museum not only serves as an archive for all the prestigious collaborations and collections, it is also a gallery. In 2023, as part of the Alice’s Flowers exhibition, artists reimagined Anna Castelli’s Flos lamp from 1967 with 3D-printed petals and augmented reality. ​“Art makes plastic poetic,” says Lorenza, who curates temporary installations that connect design to contemporary culture. The latest Save the Glacier special edition, created by fashion designer Tiziano Guardini and Luigi Ciuffreda, an architect and interior designer, consists of a cushion inspired by the magic of talking flowers in fairy tales. The capsule collection is dedicated to the preservation of glaciers and is made from regenerated cellulose.

FOUR QUESTIONS FOR FEDERICO LUTI

Looking back, Kartell has always been associated with material innovation – is it still?

Materials follow our innovative strength – they are never the starting point, but rather a consequence of the design. It is crucial that products are beautiful and last for decades. Philippe Starck has transformed transparent polycarbonate – something which was originally used for police signs – into design icons such as the Ghost Chair. We are currently working with recycled biopolymers made from plant waste, a polycarbonate 2.0 with a 60% lower carbon footprint thanks to the addition of cellulose, and smart wood processing based on industrial bending forms. In my opinion, a real revolution is created by the overall project – the material must serve creativity, not the other way around.

So should sustainability be considered part of Kartell’s DNA?

Sustainability must not become an end in itself – it needs to be both aesthetic and functional. We have been doing pioneering work in this area since the 1990s, with our first recycling attempts failing to succeed on the market based on their smell and appearance. Our current approach is based on a circular economy for bestsellers, and since 2019 we have also been using AI-supported material optimisation. We use FSC-certified wood and have a plastic-free company policy. Our goal is for customers to enter Kartell stores knowing they will find the most sustainable design currently available.

To achieve this, you also rely on a wide range of collaborations…

We combine high-end design with democratisation – an iconic chair should be affordable for young people. Our recipe for success is based on collaborations, such as those with Zara or Lenny Kravitz, and an artistic approach. We opt for store designs that are closer to the fashion industry than traditional furniture stores; in my opinion luxury is defined by quality and innovation, not exclusivity. An object like the Bourgie lamp can transform an entire room – even if it is the only designer piece in that room.

To what extent does Milan shape your understanding of design in this context?

The city is a hub of creativity – we can achieve things in a year here that would take five years elsewhere. Key factors that help us include the high volume of production facilities for rapid prototypes, the Salone del Mobile acting as an annual driver of innovation and working in close cooperation with a network of designers such as Patricia Urquiola. Our museum showroom therefore not only displays current collections, but also aims to shed light on the design vision for the coming years.

INFO BOX

KARTELL AT A GLANCE

• Founded in 1949 in Milan
• Headquarters: Noviglio complex (Ferrieri/​Gardella, 1960s)
• Flagship store: Via Turati, Milan (redesigned by Laviani in 2024)
• Facts: 150+ designers, 120 countries, EUR 200M+ turnover

KARTELL LOVES THE PLANET

• Polycarbonate 2.0 Furniture design made from renewable, recyclable core material
• Coffee capsule look In collaboration with Illycaffè, waste becomes chair
• FSC wood Since 2025, the shelving systems have been made of FSC wood

ABOUT FEDERICO & LORENZA LUTI

Federico Luti: commercial director, attended Bocconi University and expanded Kartell’s Asian presence with a showroom in Shanghai (2024)

Lorenza Luti: marketing director, architect of Kartell’s ​‘museum as brand’ strategy, winner of the Guggenheim Award

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