Italian Bordeaux Velvet Campanula Chairs by Carlo Pagani for Arflex, 1952

While mid-century architect and furniture designer Carlo Pagani is widely known for the elegant seating he created for powerhouse Italian furniture manufacturer Arflex, his many editorial collaborations with the groundbreaking modernist architect and journalist Lina Bo Bardi are considered to be among his most important works. The pair covered furnishings, interiors, architecture and art, thoroughly documenting European contributions to 20th-century design.

The Milan-born Pagani studied architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan and the University of Rome, graduating from the latter in 1939. He returned to his native city at the invitation of his former professor Gio Ponti, arguably the most important figure in 20th-century Italian architecture and design.

Pagani’s instructor saw great potential in him. He and Bardi, a former classmate at the University of Rome, opened a studio together in Milan in 1940. Pagani initially worked on architectural projects with Ponti but was eventually added to the editorial staff at Domus — the legendary magazine Ponti founded in 1928. Bardi and Pagani designed a utopian theoretical project called Casa sul Mare di Sicilia that was published in an issue of Domus dedicated to seaside living. When Ponti left Domus and launched Stile magazine to cover urban planning, art and Italian architecture, Pagani and Bardi were invited to contribute articles, artwork and more to Ponti's new initiative.

In 1943, Pagani returned to the Domus magazine staff and asked Bardi to join him. The Italian-born Brazilian writer and architect Bardi, who began a career in design journalism in Milan, co-edited the magazine’s “I Quaderni di Domus” with Pagani — a softcover table book series highlighting the best designers and emerging products from postwar Europe, such as Alvar Aalto, Franco Albini and Vico Magistretti. The books, copies of which are very rare today, are considered quintessential documents by collectors of design ephemera and enthusiasts of Italian modernism.

Pagani was asked to design the interiors for La Rinascente, a department store in Milan’s Piazza del Duomo. The project yielded a partnership between the architect and the retailer that lasted decades. He stayed busy throughout his life — Pagani was commissioned to design chairs and other seating for Arflex, he consulted on architecture projects all over the world and continued to design buildings and home interiors.

Find vintage Carlo Pagani furniture on 1stDibs.

From its unorthodox beginnings, Italian manufacturer Arflex grew into one of the leaders of 20th-century furniture design. Its furniture came to be known for its integration of new materials and bold appeal, and today a variety of vintage Arflex chairs, sofas and tables are emblems of mid-century modernism.

Arflex was established in Milan in 1947 by Pirelli employees Carlo Barassi, Pio Reggiani, Renato Teani and Aldo Bai. Barassi, a Milan Polytechnic graduate and visionary engineer at the Italian tire manufacturer, explored innovative technology and new uses for synthetic materials in domestic products (for Kartell, he codeveloped a ski rack for automobiles). The four founders partnered with a young architect named Marco Zanuso, who also desired to create furniture that featured an application of novel materials such as elastic tape and polyurethane foam.

One of Arflex’s inaugural pieces was Zanuso’s Lady armchair, a seat made of polyurethane foam that was manufactured in pieces and assembled at the very end of the production process. It won a gold medal at the 1951 Milan Triennale. A couple of years later, Arflex collaborated with Studio BBPR to create the office-chic Elettra and Neptunia chairs. The flourishing furniture company quickly established a reputation for compelling products and attracting and working with up-and-coming designers such as Roberto Menghi, who created Hall, a luxurious line of seating that would earn the Compasso d’Oro – Honorable Mention in 1959.

In the 1960s, Arflex continued to welcome the use of new and cutting-edge materials. Popular designs from this decade include Carlo Bartoli's fiberglass and polyester resin Gaia lounge chair and Cini Boer’s Bobo Relax lounger, one of history’s first seating pieces made of polyurethane foam (it has no internal frame). Boer, a pioneer of furniture design in Italy, also created the Strips sofa for the brand in 1972. Part of a plush modular seating system, the Strips sofa became an Arflex icon and was awarded the Compasso d'Oro in 1979.

Arflex continues to work with innovative designers to this day. Among their more recent collaborations is with Swedish design studio Claesson Koivisto Rune. The company's legendary creations are also on display at museums worldwide. The Lady chair, for example, is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

On 1stDibs, you can find a collection of vintage Arflex lounge chairs, armchairs, coffee tables and other furniture.