KARTELL is a brand that has always been part of my working memories.
The first time I set foot in an office, most of the furniture was KARTELL.
I remember the 4653 coat stand (by Centrokappa), the 4676 magazine rack (by Giotto Stoppino), the 4650 umbrella stand (Gino Colombini) or the 4602 chest of drawers (by Simon Fussell) just to name a few.
Now I know who KARTELL is, then absolutely not.
I also remember that when something was missing in the editorial offices, or rather in the graphic design offices, we would browse through the KARTELL catalogue and then go to the purchasing office.
This is one of the reasons why today, every time the Salone del Mobile begins, a visit to the KARTELL stand has become a must.
I can’t find the right words to describe why, but it’s like coming home, to a safe and familiar place.
Don’t get me wrong, KARTELL doesn’t just make office furniture or accessories. I just took a dip into the past to remember when I first saw something made by this iconic brand.
I am in fact absolutely sure that you will have seen the “master” chair (Philippe Starck with Eugeni Quitllet) in many trendy homes or places, as well as the “Bourgie” lamp (Ferruccio Laviani) and many of their other pieces.
Let’s not forget that this Italian excellence was born in 1949 and has won 7 Compasso d’Oro awards…
(award awarded annually by ADI – Association for Industrial Design – considered the most important award in the world in the sector).
But there is another reason that binds me to KARTELL, more than my memories and very very important, its manifesto: “Kartell Loves the Planet”.
Which fits perfectly with our spirit and hashtag #SaturdayRecycling.
What is “Kartell Loves the Planet”?
It is KARTELL’s industrial manifesto with which the design company declares its concrete commitment to environmental sustainability and ecological responsibility.
Objectives and principles:
-Sustainability at the core: placing respect for the environment at the heart of every production and management activity;
-Materials innovation: using recycled plastics from pure industrial waste, bioplastics from agricultural waste, and green polycarbonate;
-Circular economy: reducing environmental impact by demonstrating that plastic can be designed, produced, and reused in a virtuous way;
-Social commitment: extending the values of the manifesto to educational and solidarity projects aimed at new generations.
But… I want to talk to you about “Kartell Loves the Planet” in a separate article because first I want to delve further into the topic so as not to treat it superficially and/or say inaccuracies.
Below, resuming the topic of Salone del Mobile 2026, we report their press release.
We also invite you to visit the Gallery, hoping you enjoy our photos.
Enjoy the reading.
Gabriella Ruggieri for 1blog4u
Every year Salone del Mobile provides Kartell with an important opportunity for communication and sharing. The Salone is where Kartell presents its latest achievements in research, reveals new products and renews its dialogue with the world of international design.
Kartell has been creating objects of design, exploring new materials and technologies and developing new approaches to customer relations and sales ever since 1949. This ongoing quest is aimed at developing products capable not just of interpreting contemporary lifestyle and society, but of establishing future trends too.
Each new project stems from an ambition to understand the present and express it through shapes, materials and solutions that offer new ways to enjoy spaces. This is why Kartell remains committed to technical innovation and the development of new materials, and collaborates with an international community of designers who help redefine the language of the brand season after season.
While the symbol that identifies us – the logo that has always represented us – is red, the page on which we write a new chapter every year is white. This page is the journey from one Salone to the next, a journey of research, experimentation and shared objectives.
But white is not a limitation. Rather it is the sum of all colours, a synthesis between the cultures, designers and ideas that find expression in our catalogue. It is an open space in which ideas come together freely, enabling our brand to be everything to everybody, everywhere.
It is the space from which stories and ideas emerge: new designs developed in a more visual, interpretative dimension that sees figurative art and colour once again as tools of communication.
Every product is accompanied by its own image, like a canvas that confers identity and meaning and offers an unlimited, dreamlike understanding of its design.
In this process, the dialogue between analogue and digital becomes ever more subtle: concept, look and material are interwoven with the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence, which becomes a tool for translating visions into images and suggestions while preserving the unique story of each item.
This blank page is also the source of inspiration for the concept behind our stand at Salone del Mobile 2026.
This year’s stand consists of three distinct areas: one dedicated to the latest ideas, one to the current collection, and an operational area designed as a meeting and work space.
In the first part of the stand, settings take the shape of an autonomous scene: white structures form the backdrop against which each design takes shape, adding power to the colours, materials and identity of the product. Each element is therefore presented as an episode of research and experimentation, as the latest expression of Kartell’s journey in design.
The result is a story made up of individual episodes, perspectives and visual surprises, a succession of spaces that highlight the creative process and variety of the latest creations through a dialogue between design, colour and innovation.
Further on in the journey, the stand gradually opens up into a series of settings offering a more complete overview of the Kartell lifestyle. Here, different products dialogue one with the other, creating original settings in which furniture, lighting and complements make up coherent, immersive spaces and express an approach to design intended to enhance everyday life (Kartell press release)
Useful links:
-Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kartell
-Kartell: https://www.kartell.com/it/it/ktit/
Visit the Gallery (photo by Vaifro Minoretti for 1blog4u)
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