Massimo Vignelli and Lella Vignelli are legendary names in branding and were prolific creators of home furnishings, products and interiors. The duo’s modernist furniture collaborations, which span 50 years, have also left a profound mark on design and wider visual culture. Furniture created by the couple is often labeled as Massimo Vignelli’s alone, though he fought to have Lella recognized for her work, even throwing away magazines that neglected to give her due credit.
As Massimo wrote of their lifelong collaboration in his book Designed By: Lella Vignelli: “It is not holding a pencil with four hands that makes a partnership; it is sharing the creative act and exercising creative criticism which is reflected in the end result.”
After meeting in Italy, Lella (1934–2016) and Massimo began working together in 1961 and a decade later formed Vignelli Associates in New York. A self-described “information architect,” Massimo was committed to streamlining complex ideas into clear, visually arresting forms. (Witness the graphic identity that he cocreated with Bob Noorda for the New York City Transit Authority as well as his influential 1972 subway map.) The Vignellis’ most recognizable piece, for example, may be the Handkerchief chair, a stackable office chair made of compression-molded plastic that has the look of a cloth floating in air. It was created for Knoll in 1983 after they designed the brand’s logo.
Evidence of the couple’s influence can also be found in their Saratoga line (1964), the first collection of lacquered furniture, which helped herald in the trendy “glossy” look of the decade (and beyond). When the Vignellis created the Poltrona Frau Interview chair in 1988 for an Italian television station, it became widely sought after, “which goes to show you the power of the TV media,” the couple once said. Much like their elemental graphic designs, the Kono (1984) and Pisa tables (1985) — both created for Casigliani — cull the form of the table down to geometric shapes.
Many of the Vignellis’ designs are considered modern masterpieces and are included in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and other important institutions.
Find vintage Massimo Vignelli furniture today on 1stDibs.
Massimo Vignelli for Heller Dinnerware 20 Large Plates and 20 Small Plates Light
By Massimo Vignelli
Located in Topeka, KS
Wonderful set of 20 large 10-inch dinner plates and 20 smaller 8-inch salad plates in light yellow by Massimo Vignelli for Heller. Beautiful conditio...
Plastic
Fruit Salad Plates Design by Giovanna Amoruso Manzari for Limoges France
By Limoges Elite Porcelain 1
Located in Neguri, Vizcaya
Giovanna Amoruso Manzari hand painted partial table service for Limoges, decorated with fruit, flowers, and butterflies. Measure 8.66 inches / 22 cm * Request info for flatware pric...
Ceramic
Mushroom Handpainted in Italy Dessert Plate
By Bertrando Di Renzo
Located in ROCCAVIVARA CB, IT
Italian craftsmanship meets Les-Ottomans in this beautifiul mushroom collection of handpainted plates The charme of the woods on your table in a u...
Ceramic
Mushroom Handpainted in Italy Dinner Plate
By Bertrando Di Renzo
Located in ROCCAVIVARA CB, IT
Italian craftsmanship meets Les-Ottomans in this beautifiul mushroom collection of handpainted plates The charme of the woods on your table in a un...
Ceramic
Mushroom Handpainted in Italy Dinner Plate
By Bertrando Di Renzo
Located in ROCCAVIVARA CB, IT
Italian craftsmanship meets Les-Ottomans in this beautifiul mushroom collection of handpainted plates The charme of the woods on your table in a un...
Ceramic
Mushroom Handpainted in Italy Dessert Plate
By Bertrando Di Renzo
Located in ROCCAVIVARA CB, IT
Italian craftsmanship meets Les-Ottomans in this beautifiul mushroom collection of handpainted plates The charme of the woods on your table in a un...
Ceramic
Mushroom Handpainted in Italy Dinner Plate
By Bertrando Di Renzo
Located in ROCCAVIVARA CB, IT
Italian craftsmanship meets Les-Ottomans in this beautifiul mushroom collection of handpainted plates The charme of the woods on your table in a unique and special collection create...
Ceramic
$950 / set
H 0.75 in Dm 10.5 in
Set of 12 Noritake Morimura Gilt Dinner or Service Plates, Ex-Seidenberg
By Noritake
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A fine set of 12 Noritake porcelain dinner plates. With transfer painted polychrome flowers to the center & rim, green Rococo style decoration, and raised gold highlights. (Labeled to the reverse with an old Seidenberg sticker pricing the set at $2250.) Simply a wonderful set of dinner service plates! Date: Mid-20th Century Overall Condition: They are in overall good, as-pictured, used estate condition with no chips, cracks, or repairs. Condition Details: There is some noticeable rubbing to the inner gold ring in the centers of most plates. There is some minor rubbing and losses to gilding high points in the raised gold decoration and one small noticeable (a little bit deeper) half-inch scratch to one plate. Otherwise, there are some fine & light surface scratches and other signs of expected light wear consistent with age. Maker: Noritake Morimura Brothers...
Porcelain
Mushroom Handpainted in Italy Dessert Plate
By Bertrando Di Renzo
Located in ROCCAVIVARA CB, IT
Italian craftsmanship meets Les-Ottomans in this beautifiul mushroom collection of handpainted plates The charme of the woods on your table in a un...
Ceramic
Vintage Piero Fornasetti Display Plate, Barney's New York Collection
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A Classic midcentury Italian Designed plate featuring an iconic image from Piero Fornasetti’s work, his muse the opera singer, Lina Cavalieri. Crisp black and white timeless design i...
Porcelain
Porcelain Dinner Plate - Butterfly, Insect Collection
By Bertrando Di Renzo
Located in ROCCAVIVARA CB, IT
Step into the charm of an English garden with our porcelain plates, adorned with delicate hand-appliqué design of a butterfly. Perfect as enchanting tableware to elevate your dining ...
Porcelain
Massimo Vignelli for Heller Mid Century Modern Plates and Mugs for Six
By Massimo and Lella Vignelli, Heller
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Iconic sixties design by Massimo and Lella Vignelli of stacking plates and mugs manufactured by Heller. This set consists of 6 dinner plates and 6 mugs in a sunshine yellow color. Al...
Plastic
Porcelain Dinner Plate - Dragonfly, Insect Collection
By Bertrando Di Renzo
Located in ROCCAVIVARA CB, IT
Step into the charm of an English garden with our porcelain plates, adorned with delicate hand-appliqué design of a dragonfly. Perfect as enchanting tableware to elevate your dining ...
Porcelain
Massimo Vignelli for Heller Dinner Set, 39 Pcs.
By Massimo Vignelli
Located in Astoria, NY
Massimo Vignelli (Italian, 1931-2014) for Heller polychrome plastic dinnerware set twelve (12) small plates, six (6) handled cups, eight (8) bowls, ...
Plastic
Massimo Vignelli Stackable Tableware for Heller, 1964
By Massimo Vignelli
Located in Las Vegas, NV
33 Piece stackable dinnerware setup by Massimo Vignelli for Heller, 1964 in a vibrant, and rare, purple plastic. Impeccable space saving design gives th...
Plastic
Twelve 1970s Heller Dinnerware Sets, Two of Each of the Six Original Colors
By Massimo Vignelli
Located in Kansas City, MO
12 place settings of original 1970s Heller plastic multi-color dinnerware by Massimo Vignelli. Each set consists of a dinner plate, salad plate, bowl, a...
Plastic
Sold
H 8.27 in W 9.85 in D 14.57 in
Midcentury Melamine Dinnerware Set Designed by Massimo Vignelli for Heller
By Massimo Vignelli
Located in Doornspijk, NL
Dinnerware set made of melamine designed in 1964. Because of its material, compactness, stackability and looks this has become an iconic design. It is in the permanent collection of ...
Plastic
Sold
H 1 in Dm 7.75 in L 1 in
Massimo Vignelli Heller Dinnerware 20 Large Plates and 20 Small Plates Yellow
By Massimo Vignelli
Located in Topeka, KS
Set of 20 large 10-inch dinner plates and 20 small 8-inch salad plates in light yellow by Massimo Vignelli for Heller, circa 1964. They are all in wonderful vintage condition. Thi...
Plastic
Large Set of Staking Tableware by Massimo Vignelli for Heller Design
By Massimo Vignelli
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Large set of staking tableware by Massimo Vignelli for Heller design. Stamped, circa 1960. Bowls: Dia 5'/height 3'. Big plates: Dia 10'/height 1'. Small plates: Dia 8' /height 1...
Plastic
Sold
H 8 in W 1.5 in D 2 in
Stainless Steel Modernist Y. Kono Vignelli for Sasaki 4 Place Tableware Set
By Massimo Vignelli
Located in North Miami, FL
These vintage modernist stainless steel table settings is signed. It is from the late 1960s-early 1970s and was produced in Korea by Y. Kono Vignelli for...
Stainless Steel
Plastic Dish Set by Massimo Vignelli for Heller
By Massimo Vignelli
Located in Ferndale, MI
Large Set Pop Era Yellow Plastic Dish Set by Massimo Vignelli for Heller. 10 Pieces Each: Large and Small Plates, Mugs, Bowls