For more than 150 years the furniture house Acerbis has produced some of the world’s most innovative designs, penned by names including the legendary designer Vico Magistretti who is known for his buildings, furniture and the classic Fiat 500 car. Research and experimentation are key ingredients of the iconic furniture house’s approach that looks at innovation in the way furniture is designed and made, and the social dynamics of how people live. It’s a design mission that shapes everything they do.
Francesco Meda and David Lopez Quincoces, creative directiors, Acerbis.
"These pieces tell an important story with an intrinsically precious value for those who understand the narrative aspect of design”
David Lopez Quincoces and Francesco Meda, Acerbis
Today that fascination with the way design shapes our lives is alive and well more than a century later, as the furniture group, now under the brand ambassadorship of the family’s fourth generation, Enrico Acerbis, continues to explore the meaning of modernity through form and material. When Acerbis first launched in 1870 in Bergamo, Italy, it was a time when furniture was steeped in tradition and craftsmanship. Fast forward to the 1950s and 60s and those traditional skills were further developed through innovative industrial production that would kickstart new relationships with designers, like Vico Magistretti, Nanda Vigo, Gianfranco Frattini, Mario Bellini and Andrea Branzi.
The Bauhaus inspired Jot chair designed in 1976 by Giotto Stoppino and the Maestro table designed in 1997 by Gianfranco Frattini. Photo c/o Acerbis.
The flexible Life sofa designed in 1975 by Roberto Monsani. Photo c/o Acerbis.
The Gong tables and Life sofa with the Memphis-inspired Menhir tables designed in 1983 by Giotto Stoppino and Lodovico Acerbis. Photo c/o Acerbis.
The classic Menhir tables in different sizes and materials – Carrara Statuario white, Marquinia black, Levanto red and Alpi green. Photo c/o Acerbis.
The Florian table designed in 1989 by Vico Magistretti. Photo c/o Acerbis.
The Storet cabinet designed in 1994 by Nando Vigo and produced for the first time by Acerbis in 2021. Photo c/o Acerbis.
The key element of the Storet is the moulded drawers in range of glossy lacquered coours, from burgundy, pink, dark green and mustard yellow, to brick red, clay, white and black. Photo c/o Acerbis.
The many combinations of the Menhir table designed by Giotto Stoppino and Lodovico Acerbis in 1983. Photo c/o Acerbis.
“Made in Italy since 1870, Acerbis creates timeless, and at the same time very avant-garde, design furniture.”
David Lopez Quincoces and Francesco Meda, Acerbis
The Acerbis showroom, Milan, Italy. Photo c/o Acerbis.
It would be that rich history of design within the Acerbis archive that drew award-winning designers Francesco Meda and David Lopez Quinococes to join the group as creative directors in 2019. Their design mission to ‘reawaken’ the back catalogue, and pieces designed by the world’s greats, has produced the ‘Remasters' collection with standouts from the range including the 1974 Life sofa and 1976 Jot chair; the 1980s classics, Menhir and Creso tables (the latter receiving a coveted Compasso d’Oro Award in 1989); and the 1994 Storat cabinet that has been re-worked in bright lacquer and wood.
With a visionary sense of the contemporary and a passion for the history of design, the iconic originals in the hands of Francesco Meda and David Lopez Quinococes remain as fresh and progressive today as they were when they first launched.
Acerbis is available exclusively in South East Asia from Space – Australia – and Space – Singapore and Malaysia.
