The entry of Carlo Colombo in the world of Talenti represents the latest piece of a puzzle that balances aesthetics and business, adding a series of products with an international spirit to the firm’s portfolio, with its wager on constant growth on the indoor-outdoor residential and contract market. IFDM met with Carlo Colombo inside the Talenti space at the Salone del Mobile 2023.
The world wakes up one morning with a new outdoor collection. How did your interaction with Talenti get started?
In the post-Covid period, outdoor furniture has become the main topic in our sector. Just consider the quantity of the collections presented at Salone 2023. My relationship with Talenti began almost by chance, through mutual friends. We met and the spark was immediately ignited: Edoardo Cameli is a delightful person, with lots of energy, expertise and dynamism. I felt immediately very comfortable, and as often happens when the chemistry is in place, I have done my very best. Tressé is synonymous with fashion, with soft, refined lines.
Without overlooking your own style, of course?
My style is made of sophisticated simplicity, careful selection of materials, elegance. Tressé is a collection of furnishings made with a structure in die-cast aluminium, which permits a very narrow radius. It not only contains a sofa and armchairs, but also tables, seating and accessories, a 360-degree collection. The aim was to get away from the classic scheme of outdoor furnishings, to make products with a strong indoor-outdoor personality, for year-round use, especially in places where the climate is a positive factor.
Does Tressé have a target generation?
From my viewpoint the answer is absolutely no; I can easily imagine it being chosen by people in their thirties, but the difference comes from the colors, the available palette, which is varied and versatile, even courageous in certain cases.
Was sustainability a parameter in the design of Tressé?
Naturally. A concrete focus on sustainability is a must. My students at Istituto Marangoni remind me of this every time we meet. Tressé is in aluminium, a material that is 100% recyclable. The fabrics and finishes also reflect this approach.
Talenti thus enters the consolidated “Colombo System”: the designer’s style is recognizable at a distance, with its mixture of the contemporary and the timeless, moving in a precise direction that appeals to interior designers, developers and private big spenders. After all, over the years Carlo Colombo has become not only a designer but also an architect, with the expertise of a developer and an investor, the driver of a world connected with large projects at all latitudes.
