BEAUTIFUL DREAMER

Multi-talented design luminary Paola Navone discusses her new lamp for Lodes, her love for Asia and how she "travels" daily

- Jennifer Choo

Paola Navone is one of this generation's design greats, renowned for her boundless creativity and unwavering commitment to design innovation.

Hailing from Turin, Italy, Navone's trajectory from architecture student to multifaceted designer extraordinaire has been meteoric, characterised not only by her immense talent and versatility, but also by her insatiable curiosity and a refusal to be confined by conventional boundaries.

Navone's formative years in Milan, working alongside the eminent architect and designer Alessandro Mendini, proved instrumental in shaping her eclectic aesthetic. Immersed in the avantgarde milieu of the design collective Alchimia, Navone was exposed to a rich tapestry of styles and techniques that would inform her pioneering approach to design.

In 1988, Navone co-founded the Cappellini Mondo brand with Giulio Cappellini, catapulting contemporary furniture design to new heights of sophistication and elegance. Her iconic Otto furniture range for Gervasoni in 1997 heralded the dawn of the shabbychic aesthetic, earning widespread acclaim and cementing her status as a trailblazer in the field. In 2020, she founded Otto, a multidisciplinary design studio that realises her artistic vision for the length and breadth of her projects, including hospitality and F&B projects for the Como group, including, most recently, Como Orchard.

Unfettered by stylistic constraints, Navone's oeuvre traverses traditional handicrafts, modern industry and technical processes effortlessly. Her accolades, including the prestigious Elle Deco International Design Awards and the Prix d'éxcellence from Marie Claire Maison, underscore the enduring impact of her visionary work.