With Raw & Rainbow, Altreforme confirmed its commitment to experimentation, demonstrating once again the versatility of aluminium which, thanks to a unique manufacturing know-how and to the constant contamination with an original vision, can radically transform itself into constantly new shapes.

Vealentina Fontana Castiglioni

“ For the first ten years of Altreforme I wanted to celebrate the two souls of this Brand: the most material dedicated to aluminium in its purity and flexibility, and the most pop inspired by our colorful finishes.

I chose 5 young Italian designers who had impressed me with their distinctive creative fair and I asked each of them to create two iconic objects, one more material and just raw, and the other colored with colours of the rainbow to tell these 10 years through their personal vision”, ………….. Valentina Fontana Castiglioni ( Altreforme founder and Art Director )

Valentina presented five “Raw” objects enhance the more material soul of Altreforme, favoring the raw, pure use of aluminium, while five “Rainbow” objects highlight the use of colour, the feature allowing the transformation of a material that is usually evenly grey.

The result was a heterogeneous collection in which each object reveals its own distinct character: unexpected and ironic personalities in a continuous game of dichotomies and cross-references.

Altreforme, the Italian design brand founded and coordinated by Valentina Fontana Castiglioni, is renowned for it’s production of aluminium home furniture and accessories with a pop and original soul,

For its’ 10th anniversary celebrations Valentina presented the ” Raw & Rainbow ” project at Rossana Orlandi Gallery.

Ten years in which aluminium applied to furnishings has become as expressive as fabrics. This has been the lesson in design from the brand Altreforme,

The brand celebrated its ten years with a collection of ten objects created by 5 emerging Italian designers Antonio Aricò, Serena Confalonieri, Marcantonio, Alessandro Zambelli and the design duo of Zanellato & Bortotto.

Each artist has been called to create two objects, one with a raw soul, a celebration of material, and a rainbow, to show that Altreforme knows how to transform aluminium into a pop and ironic material. 10 real works of art that will enter in the history, not only of Altreforme but of the entire design world.

Each artist had a precise task of designing two objects with opposing sensibilities, both however faithful to the nature of the material: the first raw and essential, through a more minimalist approach, and the second fun and colourful, through passion and creativity.

The results, ten objects exhibited at the Rossana Orlandi Gallery, have all the essence of instant classics which is typical of Altreforme, a blend of pop irreverence and industrial technology applied to fantasy.

An iconic collection dedicated to the two souls of Altreforme, the material one and the more pop

Rossana Orlandi at Raw & Rainbow

Artist Prjects

Antonio Arica

Antonio Aricò took his inspiration by the animal world, presenting Pavone (peacock) and Gallo (rooster): the first, vain and sophisticated, bewitches and seduces with the elegant brilliance of the golden and silvered aluminium, while the second appears to be a hymn to joy, spreading its beautiful multicolored feathers to the sun.

Serena Confalonieri

With Bruto and Juno, Serena Confalonieri wanted to build a reference to archetypes, both with the names and the shapes; so if Bruto, superb in its linear and multifaceted appearance, celebrate aluminium as matter, technique and formal refinement, Juno declares itself as an aesthetically smooth sculpture, cheerfully generous and colorful, the perfect homage to the mythological mother of the gods.

Marcantonio Raimondi

The fascination for the natural world in all its expressions represents the starting point for Marcantonio, also on this occasion: the sculpture Alla Terra (To Earth) celebrates the source of life with golden material roots that seem to come from the heart of an ancestral land, while Dalla Terra (From Earth) shows off all its vitality and beauty, like an elegant flower blossoming.

Alessandro Zambelli

Alessandro Zambelli decided to recreate sculptural architectures in miniature that refer, in their appearance, to a primordial imaginary: Architettura Domestica (Domestic Architecture) with its variegated reflections, tells the fascinating materiality of aluminium, Giostra (Carousel) instead develops into a vortex of colours that fit together like pieces of a puzzle.

Zanellato / Bortotto

Mr Raw and Mrs Rainbow by Zanellato/Bortotto are soulmates: pure shapes and a shimmering armor define the romantic and determined aluminium knight, while slender and sinuous profiles determine the royal temperament of the sweet lady wearing colorful drapes of aluminium.

Interview with Valentina Fontana Castiglioni

Ten intense years, which have gone by so quickly. How exactly did the brand emerge, and why ?

Altreforme was born as an idea of diversification of my family’s business, which for over sixty years has been operating in the automotive sector, creating aluminium bodywork for supercars.

Every Ferrari or Rolls Royce in the world “wears” creations made in our manufacturing plant.

I thought: if Fontana Group is able to satisfy clients from the motoring world with extremely high-quality products, why can’t it also be done with design and architecture.

This was the beginning of an adventure which, over time, has become a company in its own right. One which I love profoundly.

What were the most exciting moments in these ten years?

Most certainly the collaborations with important names.

For example, Moschino, which not only entrusted us with its first home collection, but also the creation of the Rue Faubourg Saint Honorè boutique in Paris.

Working with the brand was an experience which, for someone like me, who also loves the world of fashion, was indescribable.

It was the same situation with the Perfetti Van Melle group, for the collaboration with Chupa Chups.

These are proposals which make all of the sacrifice and hardship worthwhile. Not to mention the collaborations with international architecture studios.

In Taipei, we managed to furnish every floor of a skyscraper with the Altreforme style.

Then we have our retail outlets, and it is wonderful to think that in Beijing, there are immense commercial spaces which display all of our products.

Is there an object of which you are particularly fond ?

Obviously, new items are always the most exciting. But looking back, I find it impossible to choose a favourite.

Each item is the result of much devotion and passion.

“It’s the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important”, and so I couldn’t name one in particular. I love them all.

What can we expect from Altreforme in the future ?

I want to continue with what I started, adding new products and collections, as always carefully choosing designers who are capable of best interpreting the company’s materials and philosophy.

I want to create cross-sector collaborations and transform Altreforme into a life style which goes beyond furnishing.

We are already working in this direction.

In the decoration of interiors, are there applications in which aluminium could offer better performance than other materials ?

Certainly. Wherever lightness is required, it is second to none.

Also, when shine and material quality is needed, because aluminium can be varnished like any other product, but it also offers infinite possibilities for surface finishing which no other material can boast.

These are finishes which exalt the material and its purity, characteristics which we have sought to represent with the new collection “Raw & Rainbow”, exhibited by Rossana Orlandi.

Lastly, one cannot ignore the environmental aspect of Altreforme. Aluminium is always present in sustainable projects, as it is completely recyclable.