Fabio Novembre, one of the most wandering landmines of creativity and certainly the most anti-conformist individual in the landscape of international design, has accepted the position of Art Director for Driade.
The new arrangement wanted by CEO Giuseppe Di Nuccio establishes a firm break between the company’s past and future. Choosing Novembre is to choose a bold and decisive style “without many subtleties”.
Di Nuccio says that “Fabio Novembre was a natural choice. With Fabio, Driade will be able to fully reveal its multi-faceted personality: both sexy and sophisticated, rock and pop, experimental enough to establish new creative codices in line with the aesthetic laboratory that it has always represented.”
IFDM spoke to Fabio about this, about his role as Art Director, and about the future.
“First of all, the role of Art Director in any company should correspond to that of the helm; and so here Richard Buchminster Fuller comes to my mind (inventor and innovator from the 20th century, creator of the geodesic domes), who sustained that each of us holds the “trans-Atlantic helm of our own life” in our hands, anything we say is a political statement. Today I take the helm of Driade, a company that means a lot to me. I loved Enrico Astori, so this is an enormous responsibility.”
What are the first steps you’ll take in this new role?
“The first is to establish a course. There’s an entirely Italian method in the relationship to design that Ernesto Nathan Rogers transformed into a slogan: “We are from the spoon to the city.” I’m an old-school architect. I earned a degree in architecture and then became a designer. This change in scale, from the spoon to the city, is something I want to apply. I think that every designer object is a miniature form of architecture and I want to work on this concept with Driade.”
Which of Driade’s values will you focus on?
“In Enrico Astori’s concept the brand always had a substantial coolness. This is the only real root that I’m attached to. Driade has always been a cool brand and I, modestly speaking, know how to do cool. When I met Giuseppe Di Nuccio he said to me, “Fabio, you’re the most rock’n’roll of them all and I want to transform Driade into a ‘rock’ company.” “Welcome!” I said to him! The idea of coolness and a rock’n’roll image are closely related and we intend to go in that direction.”
Anything you can tell us about the Salone del Mobile?
“That would be like providing spoilers to a film! I can’t say anything. But if you read between the lines of the words used in my previous answers, you might find a few clues!”
