In 1982 it stood out for its high-tech lines, in clear contrast with the reigning formalism of the time. Today Ouverture, the sofa with a daring image designed by Pierluigi Cerri, is back to find its way into the hearts of lovers of design and fine workmanship. Conserving a chapter in the history of innovation, Poltrona Frau reissues the sofa in compliance with its original design, concentrating crafts and technology, tradition and progress.
Pierluigi Cerri
A piece of excellence, capable of spotlighting the Leathership® that makes the brand recognizable all over the world, with soft folds of Pelle Frau® or fabric, revealing an ability to shape different materials like metal, in manufacturing of the highest quality.
1985 – Photo taken by Antonia Mulas in the studio of Arnaldo Pomodoro, Milan, Italy.
In terms of form, Ouverture continues to be provocative, “manifesting the ideology that shapes it in a brutalist structure, against bourgeois conformism,” said Pierluigi Cerri. The impact of the reference to industrial architecture remains, offered by the T-beam of the support frame, made in perforated steel and composed of segments without welding, to create a linear seat.
1987 – Salone del Mobile, Installation at Società del Giardino, Milan.
It is here that the technological component merges with the aesthetic, in the segments held in place by double-C aluminium joints, playing with interlocks and remaining visible in the lateral profile. But also in the distancing of the beam from the crossbars in steel with a semi-oval shape supporting the seat. The effect is one of airy slimness, in which the ample cushions seem to float, and the contrast between metal and softness is even more vivid.
2022 – Ouverture by Poltrona Frau, Design Pierluigi Cerri
The version 2.0 of Overture corrects the cushions with removable covers, making them more ergonomic in the filler of goosedown and polyester wadding, through the insertion of expanded polyurethane, but still rich in details, like the buttons that decorate the back and the slight tapering in the interlock between the seat and back cushions. The elegant perimeter stitching, clearly perceptible when observing the sofa from the side, permits optimal overlapping of the two elements, without hampering the volume of the padding.
2022 – Ouverture by Poltrona Frau, Design Pierluigi Cerri
The attention to detail continues in the internal steel plates of the seat, covered in jacquard fabric and leather, and in the support obtained with an elastic suspension in nylon. The armrests, formed by two cushions, rest solidly on the structure thanks to canvas belting. Ouverture is now ready to meet new challenges in the world of residential and contract applications, with its absolute comfort and flexibility of use.
