iittala, The historical brand of Finnish design of the Fiskars Group, opened in Milan in Corso Monforte 19, its first store and showroom in Italy. The area covers two floors where there are the shop in shop brand iittala and showroom dedicated to the exhibition of the entire collection of the brand. Now you can discover all the new proposals for Iittala, in addition to the iconic and timeless pieces that have marked the history of the Finnish brand. The first opening of Italian iittala is the result of the agreement with Alias, the historical brand of Italian design.
“The history of iittala is strongly linked to Italy. The foundations for the birth of the international brand were laid at the Milan Triennale, where our founding fathers achieved international recognition and prestige. Tapio Wirkkala, Timo Sarpaneva, Oiva Toikka and Harri Koskinen, over the years, have all also worked in collaboration with the Italian glass masters and this has created a strong and natural connection between the two design-loving countries, as well as contributing to the commercial development"Says Vice President of iittala, Päivi PaltolaPekkola.
iittala, with this first opening, officially arrives in Italy bringing generations of products intended to last forever. "My collaborators and I are very proud to have brought Iittala to Italy and to find ourselves, today, opening the first single-brand store in Milan"Says Dr. Paul Iacono, CEO of Fiskars Italy, Finnish giant which is part of the Iittala 2007. "This first shop in Italy, confirms the international success as an icon of Iittala interior Nordic design. Opening in Milan, in fact, will be followed by many other flagship stores at retailers most prestigious and strategic national territory ", added Dr. Alessandra Maggi, Marketing Manager Fiskars Italy. The opening of iittala in Italy also represents an important step for the company in international markets. In addition to multiple shop-in-shop openings in exclusive and crucial shopping centers, in 2013 iittala opened two new stores in Japan (Osaka, Chiba) and one in China (Shenzhen).
For the opening of the first Italian showroom, iittala is unveiling the new staging Brand Wall, A prestigious installation dedicated to the history of the brand. The Brand Wall, inspired by the Finnish Pavilion designed by Alvar Aalto at the Paris Biennale in 1936, traces the history of the design of iittala through the exhibition of his classics: true icons of design that represent the heart of iittala; objects that are placed in the most important international museums, confirming the success of iittala.
The prestigious Brand Wall was made of ash wood, which recalls the bursting force of Finnish nature, the latter inspiration for a large part of iittala's design. The evocative iittala space is located in the context of the Alias flagship store. The Milanese showroom aims to be the theater of design culture, where the intense dialogue between Alias and iittala takes place.
"In addition to sharing collaborations with internationally renowned designers such as Alfredo Häberli, this meeting brings out a deep sharing of values between the two brands that have built their history by offering timeless objects in which the formal lightness and functionality represent the fundamentals aesthetic " said Arch. Renato Stauffacher, President of Alias. And Andrea Sanguineti, Marketing Manager at Alias adds: "The entry of iittala into the Alias Shop in Corso Monforte represents a further stage in the path that Alias is facing in enriching the offer of the Milanese monobrand, through the inclusion of selected Scandinavian design brands including Jorgensen and Borastapeter. This operation responds to the ever-changing needs of international consumer customers who prefer the concept store to the mono-brand store, where different types of products coexist in a surprising way, sharing transversal concepts such as technological research, design, exclusivity ".
