After looking for alternative words for ‘massive’ or ‘huge’ I came across ‘brobdingnagian’ which I thought was a ridiculous adjective but it certainly made me laugh. On further reading I discovered it was the name for the land of the giants in Jonathan Swift’s Gullivers Travels. While the release of 62 designs by one designer in one-fell-swoop might not be of brobdingnagian proportions, it must be fairly close. Crate & Barrel’s CB2 brand is the company behind the significant relaunching of a (insert appropriate adjective here) array of designs by renowned Italian designer Gianfranco Frattini.
The Paraggi credenza by Gianfranco Frattini from 1954, was rediscovered through black & white photographs and reissued in cerused oak with 3 black painted drawers. The glass and metal table lamp is called Memoria and is from 1961.
This isn’t the first time CB2 has blindsided the design world in this way. You only have to look back to March 2021 to see that they flooded the hungry Covid induced design market with dozens of designs by legendary American mid-century designer Paul McCobb. The brand has also previously re-issued work by Cuban born modernist Clara Porset and 19th Century German designer Robert Wengler albeit at a more moderate scale of 2 to 4 pieces.
The Portofino desk in cerused oak and Pesaro chair (1992) offered in various leathers with a chrome base.
Gianfranco Frattini produced work from the 1950’s through to the early 2000’s designing some of the late 20th century’s most sort after furniture pieces such as the Sesann sofa, originally produced by Cassina in 1970, and reissued by Tacchini in 2015.
The Meda 3 seater armless sofa and Liguria side table made from solid marble in either Nero Marquina or Tornado white marble.
“There is no decoration; the structure becomes the object”.
Gianfranco Frattini
The armchair version of the Meda designed in 1954, received an honourable mention at the 1955 Compasso d’Oro. The lamp is the Colonna from 1981. The side profile reveals a wonderful shape that shows off the walnut grain to great effect.
Born in Padua in 1926 Frattini set up his studio in Milan after graduating in architecture from the Politechnico di Milano in 1953 and working in the office of his teacher and mentor, Gio Ponti. He first started working with Cassina in 1954 and went on to collaborate with a large number of Italian furniture and lighting companies such as Acerbis, Arteluce, Artemide, Bernini, and Fantoni along with international companies like Knoll.
The Boviso table by Gianfranco Frattini dates from the 1970’s and the Materia pendant lamp in chrome and glass from 1954. The chairs (Model 830 ) are also by Frattini manufactured by Bernini but are not part of the current cb2 reissue.
One of the founders of the ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale) in 1956, he was also a long-term board member of the Triennale. His Boalum lamp, designed with Livio Castiglioni for Artemide in 1974 is one of his best known designs and is in the permanent collection of MoMA, the Smithsonian and Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museums. Frattini’s other well known design is the Kyoto table designed in 1974 for Pierluigi Ghianda and recently re-introduced by Poltrona Frau.
Shown here is the Marconi sofa in leather, the Bovisio coffee table and the Campana floor lamp. The glass accessories are also by Frattini through CB2 - along with the Alta hurricane lamp, Aldo glasses and small Piero bowl in polished stainless.
Frattini’s design archive was acquired by FORM Portfolios and like the Paul McCobb designs mentioned earlier, made the designs available to manufacturers to license. FORM Portfolios was behind the sudden increase in popularity of the work of female Danish architect/designer Bodil Kjaer whose designs were reissued in 2019 by Carl Hansen and Karakter (now part of the Cassina group).
Originally released in 1972 as a full silverware service, Berto cutlery by Gianfranco Frattini, has been reissued as a 5 piece set in 18/8 polished stainless steel.
FORM Portfolios specialises in bringing the design archives of past iconic designers to the attention of current day manufacturers and promotes some of the world’s most talented yet sometimes forgotten designers.
Gianfranco Frattini’s Sphera vase was created for an Italian ceramics company in the early 1980’s. The new version is made in Poland in clear mouth-blown glass with an internal frosted glass cylinder.
“Always use a material for what it can do; don’t force its nature”.
Gianfranco Frattini
Gianfranco Frattini Anacapri table and Model 830 chair. On the table top is a Piero tray also by Frattini and reissued by CB2. The red Calice vase in this shot is by Ettore Sottsass manufactured by Kartell.
Cb2 is, as mentioned previously, is part of the Crate & Barrel group based in the US. While not known for high-end designer furniture, they are rapidly changing their credentials in this area and the quality of the Frattini range looks extremely good using manufacturers from around the world to produce the objects keeping prices accessible but quality high. The collection has glass items from Poland, stainless steel accessories from India and somewhat surprisingly, some of the furniture pieces, such as the Bovisio tables, are actually made in Italy.
Gianfranco Frattini’s monolithic Genova bookshelf from 1987 shown with Campana floor lamp (this time in black with Nero Marquina marble base). The shelving is ebonised oak with cerused oak drawers. The bookshelf has 10 small side shelves housed within the uprights and 5 full width shelves.
In total some 74 Frattini objects are being offered by cb2 based around 34 individual designs with multiple variations. While its tempting to show them all, Design daily has come up with the ‘essential selection’ as the British radio DJ, Pete Tong, would say.
Aldo glasses designed in 1980. The reissued versions are made in Poland and available from CB2 from mid December 2022. Shown here with the Piero tray (1976), the Franco icebucket (1980) and the Orsola, Jole and Sofia decanters (80’s). The Aldo glasses come in red or white wine, cordial and cocktail shapes.
To see the full range of Gianfranco Frattini designs reissued by cb2 as part of their Design Legends Collection, please go to the CB2 website here.