Prophets ​​​​​​​Corner

The secret worlds of MILAN’S DESIGN ILLUMINATI.

- Spencer Bailey

NINA YASHAR

In the 40 years since she founded the gallery Nilufar (Farsi for lotus), Tehran-born Nina Yashar has become Milan’s doyenne of design, beloved for her taste, her eclectic fashion, and her shrewdness in curating contemporary designers alongside midcentury masters. When T&C recently paid her a visit for this portrait at Nilufar Depot—a factory-size offshoot of her apartment-style space on Via Della Spiga—she was standing among a museum-quality showcase of furniture by the Italian-born Brazilian modernists Lina Bo Bardi and Giancarlo Palanti. Even in a city known for discerning eyes, the global-minded Yashar continues to stand out because of her rare ability to manifest the unexpected. A walk through one of her installations could include colorful stools by the edgy Martino Gamper made of pony and Mongolian shearling wool, sculptural chairs by the great Ico Parisi, marble and bronze Thierry Dreyfus light sculptures, and maybe a century-old Persian and Chinese carpet thrown in for good measure. “Nina has freed herself from any classic definition of style,” says the architect and designer India Mahdavi. Earlier this year, at Salone del Mobile, the two grandes dames showed the kids how it’s done with a swinging nightclub cheekily called Chez Nina.

GIAMPIERO BODINO