Tell us a little bit about yourselves. What is your background?

My name is Letizia and I am an art director and designer living in Milan. I founded Formepiane in 2018 with the aim to combine product, graphic and textile research in a personal design project.
I graduated in Industrial Design and Communication Design in Florence. After having worked for many years as art director and graphic designer in the advertising sector, I opened my design studio in Milan where I create and develop the Formepiane textile collections.
All pieces are designed by me and crafted by a talented and dedicated team of craftspeople.

Where does your passion for design come from?

I was fascinated by the work of great architects and designers who have dedicated their creative activity to experimentation, declining it in all its forms and ranging from painting, sculpture, graphic design, writing and teaching. In particular, I was inspired from reading books and studying projects of Bruno Munari and Enzo Mari. From their work as designers and theorists, timeless creations were born, free from fashions, whose value lies in the constant and long research work and the quality of the forms.

What inspires you?

Always passionate about fabrics and decorative surfaces, for me fabrics represents a perfect balance between shape, color and material.
I have a passion for patterns inspired from geometric shapes. Basic elements give you the possibility to create infinite combination. Timeless elegance and the use of balanced geometric structures are the aesthetic and design principle that inspire Formepiane collection. 
I am also inspired by the research of Anni Albers and Sonia Delaunay, Japanese graphic art and fabrics from West Africa.

What are your 3 favorite things?

Drawing is my true passion. When you draw, you focus only on what you are looking at...
it's very relaxing. My favourite place for drawing is home. Its bright and warm light, fabrics, ceramics and objects collected from many different places, are an incredible and very personal source of inspiration.
To design the Formepiane collections I always start from hand-made sketches. I use cotton based paper and a mix of watercolors and coloured pencils. This technique allows me to obtain wonderful nuance and colors.
I also love create silkscreen unique pieces. Printing by hand is key to create and to experiment new solutions and designs directly on the fabric itself. It's a moment of pure exploration that leads to the creation of Formepiane collection.