Arflex
Arflex
Est. 1947
About
Arflex is an Italian furniture brand that designs and produces upholstered seating, including sofas, armchairs, chairs and complementary furnishings such as tables and storage pieces. The company is based in Giussano, in the Monza e Brianza province of the Lombardy region, and is one of the established names in twentieth-century Italian upholstered furniture. Its catalogue centres on design sofas and lounge seating produced for both private interiors and contract settings. The company was founded in 1947 under the name Ar-flex, a contraction referring to flexible furniture. Its founders were Carlo Barassi, an engineer who had worked at the tyre manufacturer Pirelli, together with Renato Teani, Pio Reggiani and Aldo Bai. The founding is closely tied to Pirelli's post-war research into rubber: the company built its early products around foam rubber and elastic tape, materials that allowed upholstery to be constructed without traditional spring-and-horsehair methods. After roughly two years of experimentation, Arflex presented its work publicly for the first time in 1951 at the IX Triennale di Milano, which is why some sources date the brand to 1949 or 1951 rather than 1947. From the outset Arflex collaborated with architects and designers rather than relying on an in-house style alone. The architect Marco Zanuso worked with the company on its earliest pieces, and his Lady armchair, shown in 1951, won a gold medal at the IX Triennale. The Lady is frequently cited as an early example of furniture using foam rubber and elastic tape, and an example is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Zanuso also designed other early models for the company, including the Sleep-o-matic and Martingala. Several further products became long-running fixtures of the catalogue. The Fiorenza armchair, designed by Franco Albini in 1952, is a lounge chair that remains in production. The Strips modular sofa, designed by Cini Boeri with Laura Griziotti in 1972, replaced fixed upholstery with a fully removable quilted cover closed by a perimeter zipper; it won the Compasso d'Oro in 1979 and has been exhibited in design museums. The Marenco seating system, designed by Mario Marenco in 1970, uses soft cushions assembled onto a tubular metal frame and is offered in modular configurations. Over the decades the company has worked with a range of designers and continues to reissue several historic models alongside contemporary collections. In terms of corporate history, Arflex established affiliated operations abroad, with Arflex Japan founded in 1969 and an arm in Brazil established in 1970. The Italian trademark and associated intellectual property were acquired by Seven Salotti S.p.A. in the mid-1990s, and the company today trades as Arflex - Seven Salotti S.p.A., continuing production from Lombardy. A factory was built in Limbiate in 1969, and the registered headquarters is in Giussano. Arflex positions its products in the residential market as well as in hospitality and contract interiors, where its modular and reissued seating systems are specified alongside newer collections. The brand is commonly described as an Italian furniture brand associated with design sofas and Italian upholstered furniture, and its historic pieces appear both in current production and on the secondary market for vintage Italian design. Its catalogue spans armchairs, modular and fixed sofas, occasional chairs and accessory tables, with a continued emphasis on upholstered seating as the core product family.
Specifications
- Categories
- homehospitality
- Price Range
- $$$$
- Founded
- 1947
- Headquarters
- Giussano, Italy
- Certifications
- -
Resources
No public assets available.
Common Questions
Arflex is headquartered in Giussano, in the Monza e Brianza province of the Lombardy region of Italy. The company also operates a factory in nearby Limbiate, built in 1969. Production has remained in Lombardy throughout the brand's history.
Arflex was founded in 1947 as Ar-flex by Carlo Barassi, an engineer who had worked at Pirelli, together with Renato Teani, Pio Reggiani and Aldo Bai. The company grew out of Pirelli's research into rubber and foam, which it applied to furniture upholstery. It first presented its products publicly in 1951 at the IX Triennale di Milano.
Arflex is known for Italian upholstered furniture, particularly design sofas and armchairs developed with foam rubber and elastic tape rather than traditional upholstery. The brand is associated with early collaborations with architect Marco Zanuso and with products such as the Lady armchair, the Fiorenza armchair, the Strips sofa and the Marenco seating system. Several of these designs are held in museum collections.
Arflex is owned by Seven Salotti S.p.A., which acquired the Arflex trademark and intellectual property in the mid-1990s. The business trades as Arflex - Seven Salotti S.p.A. and continues to manufacture in Lombardy, Italy.
Arflex products are sold through the company's retailers and design showrooms internationally, as well as via contract and hospitality channels, with the official catalogue available through arflex.it. Vintage Arflex pieces also circulate on the secondary market for collectible Italian design. furniture.directory is an independent directory and does not sell furniture directly.
The Lady armchair was designed by Marco Zanuso in 1951 and won a gold medal at the IX Triennale di Milano that year. It is one of the early Arflex pieces to use foam rubber and elastic tape in its construction. An example is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.