DRIADE:
A VERY ITALIAN STORY

The List #21

By Antonella Dedini

The founders of Driade: Enrico Astori, Antonia Astori, and Adelaide Acerbi (Courtesy Elisa Astori)

Driade was founded in 1968 by Enrico Astori with his sister Antonia, an architect and designer, and his wife Adelaide Acerbi. In the landscape of Italian design, the company has always represented a symbol of innovation and creativity, leaving an indelible mark in the world of furniture and home accessories. From its beginnings, Driade has become a refined aesthetic laboratory constantly seeking beauty in living spaces. The highly flexible and compositionally rich furniture has consistently provided a precise response to the specific and intricate needs dictated by contemporary living.

Its legacy of creativity, research, and collaboration with the international design world is the foundation of its continuous success today. Building upon the legacy of this extensive collaboration and quality that shaped its DNA, Driade has managed to stay in tune with the times. It is, therefore, a distinctly Italian story born out of strong family synergy and collaboration—a narrative of commitment, passion, and dedication to the world of design from its inception to the quality of its production and product communication: an indelible DNA evident today.

Now, let's delve into the heart of this success story with the timeless projects and achievements that still define its path.

The Vision of Adelaide Acerbi 


Portrait of Adelaide Acerbi (Courtesy Elisa Astori)
The key figure essential to the company's history, a great director who shaped the product and communication policies, was Adelaide. Acerbi was a champion of total communication, the graphic designer of the company, as well as the art director of catalogs and the famous house organ and the first furniture manual sold in newsstands, Il Gazebo. She engaged renowned photographers like Ugo Mulas, Aldo Ballo, Gabriele Basilico, whose campaigns contributed to crystallizing the clear image of the products that would remain a distinctive feature over the years. She pioneered new forms of communication for product design, bringing a bold vision that united aesthetics and functionality in every catalog piece. With a strong inclination for public relations—memorable parties in the historic showroom on Via Manzoni in Milan cannot be forgotten—she led the company to collaborate with world-famous designers. In addition to the innovative creations of Antonia Astori, the market saw designs from Nanda Vigo, Enzo Mari, Paolo Deganello, Alessandro Mendini, Fabio Novembre, Patricia Urquiola, and a long list of international designers such as Philippe Starck, leaving an indelible mark and shaping the tastes of living spaces.

The Avant-Garde of Nanda Vigo


Nanda Vigo, Blocco pouf, 1970 (Courtesy Elisa Astori)
"In a living space, many elements called 'furniture' are needed for well-being, which, once positioned, remain 'fixed.' The tendency to overload the space has always been unacceptable to me, so I have always worked on the edge of necessity." - Nanda Vigo.

Blocco emerges with a focus on formal reduction and immediately becomes a symbol of a new concept of informal living. This predates art-design, the Campana brothers, and neo-baroque—a genius at work.

The Creativity of Antonia Astori

Antonia Astori, Oikos System, 1973
In 1973, the concept of a fitted wall abandons its universal vocation as a fixed element and becomes a segment of furniture bearing signs in contrast to the monochromatic scenario of the "grand walls" offered by the market at that time. With the modular furniture system Oikos, Driade establishes itself as a leader in modular furniture for both fitted walls and individual furnishing elements with colored panels to be composed as desired.

The Style, Elegance, and Purity of Enzo Mari


Enzo Mari, Sof Sof Chair, 1977
A timeless icon and symbol of essentiality in a magnificent interplay of voids and solids; the seat is formed by 9 6mm thick iron rings welded together, onto which the seat (using two fabric pockets) and a slightly elastic backrest are inserted.

Enzo Mari, Elisa Armchair, 1974
The Elisa Armchair was designed for Driade in honor of Elisa Astori, daughter of Enrico Astori and Adelaide Acerbi, but was produced only a few years later. The project has been revised and optimized in a continuous and endless pursuit of perfection. The armchair stands out for its play of contrasting volumes, where the lightness of its minimal structure contrasts with the large dimensions of its cushions, making it perhaps one of the most comfortable armchairs in the world. It is a practical seat, easy to move, and made with highly technical materials that make it suitable for outdoor environments in a special waterproof fabric version.
Enzo Mari with Frate Table (Photo Courtesy Elisa Astori), Enzo Mari, Cugino Table
With transparent glass tops to enhance the rough simplicity of metal profiles or the elegant wooden structure, as seen in the Frate Table, undoubtedly dedicated to the simple minimalist tables called "fratini" of the Renaissance conventual table.
Paolo Deganello, Squash Sofa, 1981
"In designing furniture elements, I have always sought typological innovation. In this case, I wanted to create a dividing sofa capable of separating the dining area from the living room but at the same time able to enclose the space around the television. The backrest is 'built' by the lower support of the backrest, which almost seems like a enveloping wall." - Paolo Deganello

The Grand Collaboration with Alessandro Mendini and Achille Castiglioni

Alessandro Mendini, Sabrina Armchair, 1981, Photograph taken in Mendini's studio in Milan (Courtesy Elisa Astori)

It is the re-design of the classic bergère armchair with headrest ears, adding geometric structural elements and an unusual angular result softened by the use of intense red leather. The name itself, Sabrina, aimed to give a romantic yet decisive touch. Perhaps a nod to the famous film directed by Billy Wilder with Audrey Hepburn?


Achille Castiglioni Sancarlo Armchair, 1982
A synthesis of form and perfect ergonomics, as the differentiated padding changes density based on the area of the body it supports.

The Internationalization of Driade


Philippe Starck, Costes Armchair, 1984
An absolute icon that cements the popularity of the French designer in Italy. Designed for the now-closed Parisian café of the same name, its timeless success is owed to the absoluteness of its form: a wrapping dark wood shell and three strongly inclined legs.

Philippe Starck, Lou Read Armchair, 2011
An elegant and majestic seat with an anthropomorphic appearance, designed for the Hotel Royal Monceau in Paris, where Philippe Starck met Lou Read, the artist to whom it owes its name. It boasts impeccable artisanal leather upholstery.

The Art of Objects: The first collection of decorative objects complementing furniture + The Art of Table Setting


Borek Sipek, Les Folies Collection, 1988

Sipek is a Bohemian artist who develops an original neo-baroque language using blown glass, according to his tradition, silver, and precious woods, collaborating with Driade over the years.

 
Antonia Astori and Giuseppe Ragazzini, The White Snow Porcelain Plates - Bestiary of the Table

This plate collection stems from the artist Ragazzini's passion for pictorial metamorphosis and the possible combinations, pairings, and multiple interlocks originally inspired by his animated collages of imaginative animals.


Ron Arad, MT3 Armchair, Compasso d'Oro ADI, 2008

Rocking armchair-sculpture in a single block of polyethylene. "MT" is pronounced "empty," which in English means void, like the void formed in the center of its structure, a protagonist of its form and function. The first two-tone furniture element made with rotational molding.


Fabio Novembre, Nemo Armchair, 2010

For Fabio Novembre, design is narrated through stories that often take on the appearance of human figures, almost perfect and mythicized, as in ancient Greece. Nemo is a chair with a back that reproduces a head with a wonderful face. A mask that reveals and conceals its inhabitant.


Konstantin Grcic, Mingx Seating Family, 2016, Wallpaper Design Awards 2017

The name Mingx is an explicit reference to the Ming dynasty that influenced much of Chinese culture. A subtle tubular profile recreates the profile of ancient Chinese chairs originally made of wood.


Patricia Urquiola, Peacock Chair Pavo

Originally, the Peacock chair is the most famous outdoor chair ever designed, originating in Southeast Asia in the 1600s. Characterized by a high, curved, enveloping back that gives it the appearance of a throne, it has appeared in many famous portraits and settings throughout history. Patricia Urquiola's Pavo is inspired by this famous seat. Its structure is made of painted steel covered in brown rattan and has a cushion covered in black leather.

Green is the new Black, and "Black is the new Green." The first 100% recycled capsule collection


Philippe Starck & Eugeni Quitllet, PIP-e Green Chair, 2021

"Driade inaugurates Black is the new Green, a capsule collection composed of iconic chairs and armchairs entirely made with recycled plastic material. The material used for this collection comes from industrial recycling, sourced from internally produced waste, and, therefore, controlled, as well as post-consumer recycling, meaning products disposed of through separate collection—such as PET bottles and containers—recycled to give life to new objects. All seats made with this material are characterized by neutral colors—specifically black—that make them homogeneous." (Information from Driade's Green Collection)


Ludovica + Roberto Palomba, Sissi Green Chair, (2017), 2021

The Sissi Chair has become "green" in material and is a perfect example of a modern piece that nods to the past. A synthetic material, highly resistant to wear and lightweight, has been used to create this monobloc in recycled polypropylene, reinforced with fiberglass, creating shapes reminiscent of the work of Viennese artisans.

Back to The List - A blog by Antonella Dedini - Dedenlist

Explore more