For nearly two centuries, Serralunga has cultivated a vision of outdoor living that goes beyond mere function to become a true culture of living. The company has developed a design language that combines lightness, experimentation, and an almost poetic attention to the relationship between object and environment. Originality and innovation have always been its defining keywords and the common thread that has led it to explore technologies such as rotational molding and to conceive ideas like oversized planters or illuminated pots. Its collections do more than furnish spaces: they define atmospheres, shape light, and establish an ongoing dialogue with both natural and urban landscapes. It is within this context that a new creative voice emerges, further expanding the brand’s sensibility.
In this latest edition of Milan Design Week, the company presents WAFFLE, a collection designed by Fumie Shibata, one of the most refined interpreters of the relationship between form, function and delicacy. Born in Yamanashi, Shibata has collaborated with international brands across sectors ranging from furniture to healthcare technology, as well as creative direction for capsule hotels. Her work, recognized with awards such as the EDIDA Lighting Award, the Red Dot and the iF Gold, stands out for a soft yet precise approach, capable of creating objects that seem to breathe alongside the user.
From this collaboration emerges the concept of WAFFLE, a large-scale planter that does not impose its presence, but blends into the landscape the moment it is placed—an encounter that brings balance to the material, made more dynamic by its ornamental pattern. The three-dimensional honeycomb motif envelops the surface, engraved with an almost artisanal care. Decoration becomes rhythm, a sculpted texture that transforms polyethylene into a surprisingly warm material. Light flows through the geometry, creating shifting shadows that change throughout the day and soften the object’s monumentality. In this balance between strength and delicacy, WAFFLE becomes at once container and architecture, presence and discretion. It holds the life of plants while giving cadence to the space, harmonizing with greenery and the scent of the earth. It is what Fumie Shibata and Serralunga define as a “gentle order”: a design that does not dominate, but moves closer to the emotional core of those who inhabit the space.
The collection is available in all standard Serralunga colors and in the Moleskin finish, which enhances the visual softness of the pattern. Offered in both round and rectangular versions, WAFFLE adapts to residential, contract and landscape contexts, always maintaining the quiet and contemporary quality that defines the meeting between the Japanese designer and the Italian company. With this new collection, Serralunga reaffirms its vocation for exploring new design sensibilities, embracing an approach that transforms a planter into a gesture of harmony. A presence that does not simply furnish, but listens to the space.
