This kitchen designed by Giorgio Armani is couture for the home

Like the exquisite stitches of a couture gown, a kitchen crafted by Armani’s artisans was always going to be a thing of beauty. Since 2008, a fruitful partnership between Armani/Casa and Molteni&C has produced kitchens under the Armani/Dada label. Now, for the first time, Armani/Casa launches a limited-edition design that is tailor made by its master craftspeople – a couture kitchen, if you will.

This latest foray into kitchen design was shaped in part by the pandemic and the new ways many of us began to use these functional spaces – for working, studying and socialising as much as cooking and eating. Giorgio Armani explains: ‘Observing how everyday life is changing has given me the inspiration to rethink the kitchen, the focal point of the home, as a space for exchanging ideas and spending time together.’

Unveiled during Milan design week at the luxury lifestyle brand’s flagship store in Corso Venezia, the ‘Atelier’ system elegantly pushes the boundaries of what a kitchen can be. ‘It was born from the desire to restore contact with nature,’ he continues, ‘bringing it into the home through the use of unusual materials and an innovative configuration.’

Materials not typically associated with kitchen design, such as woven wicker and olive wood, combine with simple, pared-back outlines in the 22 pieces that form the ‘Atelier’ system

The distinctive island has an olive-wood structure, while vertical surfaces are clad in woven wicker. Not typically associated with kitchen design, these materials were a conscious and timely choice. ‘Wicker symbolises craftsmanship and tradition,’ declares Armani. ‘It possesses remarkable flexibility, resistance and lightness, as well as being sustainable, a quality that the Armani Group has always considered of utmost importance. As for choosing the olive wood, it is indeed further recognition of the Made-in-Italy tradition.’

The furniture in the collection could easily slip into a living-room scheme, or be taken outside to a veranda. The simple, pared-back shapes – curves, cubes, intersecting planes – and the palette of precious materials express Armani’s signature sense of relaxed glamour and the brand’s timeless design philosophy. As he puts it, this is a limited-edition range in which ‘comfort, functionality and timeless elegance coexist in perfect harmony’.

The collection of 22 pieces will be available exclusively in a selection of Armani/Casa boutiques from early 2023 (price on application). ‘It is a versatile project,’ observes the designer, ‘made from exquisite materials with the same craftsmanship as an haute couture creation, designed for a clientele that appreciates uniqueness.’ armani.com