Giancarlo Piretti Dilemma
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Coat Racks and Stands
Metal
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Coat Racks and Stands
Steel, Aluminum
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Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
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Vintage 1920s Japanese Umbrella Stands
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Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
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Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coat Racks and Stands
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Vintage 1980s Italian Coat Racks and Stands
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Late 20th Century Italian Ladders
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Giancarlo Piretti for sale on 1stDibs
Giancarlo Piretti was born in Bologna, Italy, in 1940. He attended art schools there and subsequently taught Interior Design. During that time, he was also designing furniture for Anonima Castelli. He has won numerous awards and has items in many museums, including MoMA, New York. He still lives and works in Bologna with his son, designer Alessandro Piretti.
Finding the Right coat-racks-stands for You
Your guests might have to endure all kinds of harsh climes to get to your housewarming party, so let’s make sure their trusty overcoats and umbrellas have a home. Shop the antique and vintage coat racks and stands on 1stDibs today.
Coat racks, umbrella stands, wall-mounted hooks for outerwear — they’ve long served a practical purpose. In the days of travel by horse or foot, a guest might arrive on your doorstep bedraggled, windblown and often dripping with rain. While transportation has thankfully improved since then, a coat rack in the entryway or foyer of your home is still the beacon it was back then: It says, “Come in, where it’s dry and warm. Hang up your coat and stay a while.”
Coat stands are among history’s fairly rudimentary ideas, so it’s difficult to point to the original inventor of this eternally functional fixture, but Thomas Jefferson was said to have fashioned one of his own at Monticello. Jefferson, who would’ve made a great interior designer, placed a long wooden pole in his closet that was adorned with spokes from which his coats and other garments could be hung. The simplicity of Jefferson’s coat-tree is echoed in designs from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The timeless convenience of a wooden coat rack has endured. While there are striking Art Deco coat stands made of oak and walnut that would meet your mudroom needs well, some of the product designers behind what we now call mid-century modern coat stands turned to materials other than wood, working frequently with plastic and chrome to create unconventional alternatives. Simpler and pared-down coat stands of the mid-20th century were occasionally so interesting in form that they could pass as minimalist sculptures when not in use. Some designers, such as Jacques Adnet, helped to redefine what these classic furnishings could look like, integrating saddle leather and brass and sometimes even horseshoes for his wall hooks and racks.
Although a coat rack is undoubtedly a practical investment, we know that fun comes along with functionality. There is plenty to explore in the collection of antique, vintage and contemporary coat racks and stands on 1stDibs, so go ahead — hang up your coat and stay a while.