NOMADIC SPIRIT
Iconic, free, irreplaceable... it's hard to sum up in just a few words the "Navone Style" which slips through the fingers like a wriggling fish - her fetish animal and recurring motif, and what's more, the grand lady of design's zodiac sign is Pisces!
Turning her back on academic codes and ignoring labels, Paola Navone has been stamping her mixed and euphoric vision of the world on design for more than 30 years.
A native of Turin, where she graduated from the prestigious Polytechnic University, in 1979, the young Italian designer moved to Milan and joined the famous avant-garde group Studio Alchimia.
There, she would cultivate her iconoclastic approach to the discipline alongside the renowned Ettore Sottsass, Alessandro Mendini and Andrea Branzi.
A celebration of the senses and an ode to joy, her designs carry the colors and scents of her travels around the world and their nomadic spirit infuses each of her creations.
Among her numerous distinctions is the prestigious Osaka International Design Award. As her studio presents her new sofa collection for Baxter, Casamilano and Natuzzi, Paola reveals that she is working on a new hotel concept in Florence which she says is "pop, colorful and funny".
We call it "insatiable"!
Today, it has invaded our lives. What is design for you in 2021?
Paola Navone: Design can no longer ignore the issue of sustainability and the importance of well-being in our society. Today, we need to feel at ease in the interiors where we live. It is crucial to take pleasure in sharing common spaces in an informal way and for each person to find his or her own place within them.
Designer, architect, set designer, artistic director for famous brands, consultant for the World Bank… Does nothing stop you?
P. N.: I have a nomadic nature. My indefatigable curiosity about people, cultures and places is the driving force of my creativity. That's what encourages me to keep going.
What has been the biggest challenge of your career?
P. N.: Each of my projects is a new creative venture and therefore something of a challenge! In my projects, I always try to provoke that little imperfection which accounts for the beauty of hand-crafted objects, even when it's on an industrial scale.
All of your creations carry a clear mark of your travels. How do these inspirations find their way into your objects?
P. N.: Travel is kind of my way of breathing. Whatever the destination, the thing that counts is the way you see things around you changing; whether you're on the other side of the globe or on the corner of your own street. Everything that arouses my curiosity naturally feeds my creativity.
You talk about a nomadic stylistic approach. What do you mean by that?
P. N.: In my work, "contamination" is one of my favorite tools. When I like something I see, I spontaneously start imagining it elsewhere. I love the fact that the objects I bring back from my travels carry their own little history with them. I also love mixing different cultures, techniques and know-how.
What is your secret to finding the right balance in interior design?
P. N.: I like places where you immediately feel happy. When I imagine an interior, I let myself be guided by warm, relaxing, benevolent vibes. I think we have need of this more and more. I also like slipping in an unexpected detail, hijacking a material or an everyday object, for example. Shifting a viewpoint can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. It's what I call the art of Thammada — "something simple" in Thai. That has become my philosophy.
Photo credits: Paola Navone, Otto Studio, Rafael Ethimo, Giovanni Gastel, Nicholas James, Virgin
