Dubai’s design scene has welcomed a spectacular unveiling as Poltrona Frau and Fornasetti bring their poetic and visionary collaboration to the Middle East for the first time. Following its debut at Milan Design Week 2025, this union between two titans of Italian craftsmanship is now on display in limited release at Poltrona Frau’s boutiques in Jumeirah and the Mall of the Emirates.
The collaboration reimagines two iconic pieces: the timeless 1919 armchair and the decadent Isidoro trunk-bar, both reinterpreted with Fornasetti’s whimsical Ultime Notizie (Latest News) motif. Upholstered in Pelle Frau® ColorSphere® Impact Less leather, the pieces celebrate imagination, craftsmanship and design storytelling through materials that defy expectation.
The 1919 armchair, first conceived by company founder Renzo Frau, is an enduring symbol of Poltrona Frau’s design legacy—a generously proportioned bergère in capitonné leather, hand-finished with elegant scroll arms and intricate pleats. Its re-edition wraps this tradition in visual poetry, transforming the leather into what appears like printed paper, layered with fluttering butterflies over vintage newspaper clippings. It’s a surrealist experience that invites the sitter to dream as they recline.
Equally evocative is the Isidoro trunk-bar, a celebration of the Roaring Twenties’ glamour and theatricality. Designed by Jean-Marie Massaud in 2007 and revived through Fornasetti’s lens, the drinks cabinet’s walnut-stained finish is elevated by its butterfly-strewn Ultime Notizie print. Inside, drawers, shelves and bottle racks transform the piece into a functional sculpture—a modern heirloom as suited to quiet evenings as to Gatsby-style gatherings.
This project builds on the 2024 success of the Vanity Fair XC Imagine Edition, another Fornasetti-Poltrona Frau collaboration that sold out in a limited release of 50 pieces. Now, the duo has returned with a more elaborate narrative—one not only about comfort and style, but about perception and time. As Ultime Notizie reminds us: “Don’t dwell on the news, because the news is fleeting.” These pieces offer an antidote to that ephemerality—a chance to pause, to collect, to immerse.
For Barnaba Fornasetti, Artistic Director and son of the legendary Piero Fornasetti, the collection is deeply personal. “Thinking with your hands—who better than Poltrona Frau to bring that to life? Sitting in the 1919 armchair, I begin to dream. Comfort is a passionate embrace that inspired me to spread the news like a kaleidoscope of butterflies.”
Poltrona Frau CEO Nicola Coropulis echoes the sentiment. “Fornasetti and Poltrona Frau represent the quintessence of Italian artisan excellence. Our partnership stems from a mutual sense of quality, research and creativity. These two objects fully portray our concept of contemporary elegance.”
Only a select few pieces are available in Dubai: two 1919 armchairs and two Isidoro trunks, with additional stock arriving later this year. Like a limited-edition print or a collector’s book, each one promises more than form and function—it promises an enduring story, etched in leather and imagination.
