Gianfranco Frattini is widely regarded as a mid-century master of Italian modern design. He was an award-winning architect and designer, and specialized in creating furniture and decor that is both decorative and practical — Frattini’s vintage desks, armchairs, nesting tables and other works are celebrated for their sophisticated merging of function and form.
Born in Padua in 1926, Frattini studied architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan. He later apprenticed with his teacher and mentor, Gio Ponti. Through Ponti — arguably the most important figure in 20th-century Italian architecture and design — Frattini met many notable modernist designers such as Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier, but an introduction to famed Italian entrepreneur Cesare Cassina would prove incredibly significant in helping launch his career.
During the mid-1950s, Frattini began to collaborate with Cassina’s eponymous company. He designed the brand’s acclaimed leather and walnut Model 849 lounge chair — a winner of the Compasso d’Oro award — the Marema nesting tables and the iconic Sesann collection. The latter, an enduring 1970s suite of impossibly welcoming leather-covered seating, is now produced by Tacchini. In addition to Cassina, Frattini created furniture and lighting for other manufacturers such as Bernini, Arteluce, Artemide, Knoll and more.
While many of his designs incorporate glass, tubular steel and other materials, Frattini loved working with wood. The sculptural Albero bookcase — an innovative floor-to-ceiling structure made in walnut that swings on a 360-degree vertical swivel axis — is a striking example of Frattini’s dedication to traditional woodworking techniques. In the early 1970s, he traveled to Japan with friend and collaborator Pierluigi Ghianda — a master Milanese cabinet maker — in order to study the work of artisans in Kyoto. The trip inspired his design of the Kyoto table, a work of solid beech with Canaletto walnut inserts that is part of the permanent collection of the Milan Triennale’s Design Museum. The Kyoto and Albero have been revived by Poltrona Frau.
Frattini’s designs are in the permanent collections of prestigious museums such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
Find vintage Gianfranco Frattini furniture, lighting and decor on 1stDibs.
Customizable Tacchini Lina Armchair by Gianfranco Frattini
By Tacchini, Gianfranco Frattini
Located in New York, NY
Lina is a re-edition of one of the earliest projects designed by Gianfranco Frattini, one of the great masters of Italian design. Nominated in 1955 for the Compasso d’oro, the armcha...
Leather, Fabric
Customizable Tacchini Babela Armchair by Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
By Tacchini, Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
Located in New York, NY
price listed for starting fabric. Designed in 1958 by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for the Milan Chamber of Commerce, Babela is an excellent example of how practicality and ...
Leather, Fabric, Plywood
Customizable Tacchini Reversível Armchair by Martin Eisler
By Tacchini, Martin Eisler
Located in New York, NY
price listed for starting fabric Fruit of the creative genius of the architect and designer Martin Eisler, Reversível is an historic piece of Carioca design, and Tacchini fell in love with its incredibly innovative style. With the simplicity of its lines and movement, this armchair transforms with casual elegance. The dynamic, flexible reissue of Reversível offers dual comfort with two possible seat positions, to sit in the chair with the back upright, or really relax in a semi-reclining position, parallel with the backrest. The simple, natural movement makes it seem an obvious solution, but it actually represents as ground-breaking an intuition now as then. This original, informal seat with its distinctive lines is completed with a metal structure and fabric coverings. Reversível bears witness to the soft, sensuality of Brazilian 1950s design, a combination of tradition and creativity, folk craft and visionary innovation. To celebrate the rebirth of the iconic Reversível armchair in the brand new Classics...
Leather, Fabric
Customizable Tacchini Sesann Armchair by Gianfranco Frattini
By Tacchini, Gianfranco Frattini
Located in New York, NY
price listed for starting fabric An icon of Italian design in the 1970s, the Sesann collection by Gianfranco Frattini was part of a new vision of contemporary living in which ergono...
Leather, Fabric
Customizable Tacchini Lagoa Armchair by Zanini De Zanine
By Tacchini, Zanini de Zanine
Located in New York, NY
Zanini de Zanine, the famous Brazilian designer, son of architect and designer José Zanine Caldas, creates an absolutely original model, conceived exclusively for Tacchini: Lagoa. It...
Leather, Fabric
Customizable Tacchini Giulia Lounge Armchair with Ottoman by Gianfranco Frattini
By Gianfranco Frattini, Tacchini
Located in New York, NY
A re-edition of the famous model 877 by Gianfranco Frattini, from 1957, named for the wife of Gio Ponti, the designer’s great teacher and mentor. Giulia is Frattini’s modern interpre...
Leather, Fabric
Agnes - Armchair by Gianfranco Frattini for Tacchini - Ref. Model 849 of 1956
By Tacchini, Gianfranco Frattini
Located in Varedo, MB
Agnes Armchair Designed by Gianfranco Frattini Agnese is one of Gianfranco Frattini's most celebrated armchairs-the 849 model from 1956-and stands as a timeless icon of Italian desi...
Fabric, Wood
Lina - Iconic Armchair by Gianfranco Frattini for Tacchini
By Tacchini, Gianfranco Frattini
Located in Varedo, MB
The Lina armchair, designed by Gianfranco Frattini, combines solidity and lightness in a welcoming, timeless design. Its elegant presence transforms any space, offering comfort and s...
Fabric, Wood
Sella - Armchair in fabric by Carlo de Carli for Tacchini
By Tacchini, Carlo di Carli
Located in Varedo, MB
Saddle Armchair Designed by Carlo De Carli The Sella armchair is designed to offer extraordinary comfort, inviting a slower rhythm of life that reconne...
Fabric, Wood
Lina - Iconic Armchair by Gianfranco Frattini for Tacchini
By Tacchini, Gianfranco Frattini
Located in Varedo, MB
The Lina armchair, designed by Gianfranco Frattini, combines solidity and lightness in a welcoming, timeless design. Its elegant presence transforms any space, offering comfort and s...
Fabric, Wood
Sesann - Armchair in fabric by Gianfranco Frattini for Tacchini
By Tacchini, Gianfranco Frattini
Located in Varedo, MB
Sesann Armchair: Icon of Italian Comfort Sesann is more than an armchair: it is a manifesto of softness and authentic comfort, designed by the master Gianfranco Frattini in the 1970s...
Fabric
Costela - Iconic Armchair by Martin Eisler for Tacchini
By Tacchini, Martin Eisler
Located in Varedo, MB
The Costela armchair, designed by Martin Eisler, is a refined expression of timeless elegance and functional art. Its sculptural form, gentle curves, and thoughtful proportions trans...
Fabric, Wood
