DIARIO 01, ISSUE 11

Women, Artists, Mothers

In the male-dominated world of architecture and design of the 20th century Gae Aulenti, Gabriella Crespi, Charlotte Perriand, and Andrée Putman were brilliant exceptions. Their indomitable spirits inspired the careers of their daughters.

Gae Aulenti 4794 Lounge Chair for Kartell, c. 1972

©Corbis/Vogue Italia

Aulenti’s 1993 Tour table for Fontana Arte

Gae Aulenti: Objects, Spaces by Vanni Pasca

Milanese Gae Aulenti and Gabriella Crespi were trailblazers. Gae Aulenti studied architecture in defiance of her parents’ hope that she would be “a nice society girl.” She was prolific and successful, and her projects include the refurbishments of Musée d’Orsay and Centre Pompidou in Paris, and Palazzo Grassi in Venice. Her many interests led her to work also on stage sets for the opera. Her daughter, Giovanna Buzzi, shared this passion for the theater, becoming an acclaimed costume designer.

The Great Hall of the Musee D'Orsay Art Gallery and Museum. © Benh LIEU SONG/wikicommons

As Gae Aulenti was austere, Gabriella Crespi was glamorous. Crespi was born and married into rich Milanese families but was more interested in expressing herself creatively than in leading a bourgeois life, and became famous for her handcrafted objects and furniture (she patented the mechanisms that made her sculptural cabinets open like clamshells.) Daughter Elisabetta collaborated with her mother on a series of “metamorphic” furniture and celebrated her mother’s exceptional life by opening her house to the public during Milan Design Week 2018.


A portrait of Gabriella Crespi. (1970) ©Oliviero Toscani/Archivio Gabriella Crespi


Gabriella and Elisabetta Crespi - Milan, 2011 © SGP

Brass over wood desk by Gabriella Crespi, c. 1975

Work for her was like another child: she never wanted to part from it. She was happy only when she had her craftsmen by her side.


Elisabetta, daughter of Gabriella Crespi, on her mother.

In France there were two queens of creativity: Andrée Putman and Charlotte Perriand. Andrée Putman was a furniture and interior designer who founded the company Ecart and established herself internationally for her chic interiors, which were quickly embraced by the couture world. She had a talent for translating a unique fashion style into interior décor and was hired by important designers like Azzedine Alaïa and Karl Lagerfeld. Her daughter Olivia is a designer as well and heir to her mother’s Studio Putman.

Anne Fontaine NYC by Andrée Putman. ©Studio Putman

Compass Dans L'Oeil Table Lamp by Andreé Putman for Baldinger & Sons, 1980s. ©Felix Bachmann

© Antonio Terron/AD Spain

© 2019 BRABBU/DESIGN FORCES.

Good design is pure and simple, and I am interested in that family of things that will never date.


Andrée Putman

Putman compatriot Charlotte Perriand was a pioneer of the modernist movement. Although initially turned down by Le Corbusier’s studio because she was a woman, Perriand was finally hired to design all the interiors for his projects. Perriand created furniture using steel, leather, and other materials that were then rarely used in domestic settings and worked under the belief that beautiful design leads to a better life. She was undoubtedly one of the most important designers of the 20th century and her daughter Pernette worked alongside her for over 25 years.

Perriand delights in a rocky readymade recliner. 1939. © Fondation le Corbusier


LC7 Swivel Chair designed by Perriand & Le Corbusier, 1928

Charlotte Perriand in 1934. Archives Charlotte Perriand 2013


Antony Daybed by Jean Prouvé and Charlotte Perriand, 1950s

Ippolita has much in common with these women. She is a mother of two and her voracious artistic temperament has always given her the need to express herself creatively. She started first as a sculptor and then as a jewelry maker. She began crafting body ornaments with a distinct sculptural quality, launching the brand IPPOLITA. With her experimental approach to jewelry, she has invented new stone cuts and precious metal alloys to accurately give shape to her vision. Her passion for craftsmanship and the urge to save Italian artisanal tradition led her to start a second company, Artemest. This leading online destination for luxury Made-in-Italy products gives a global platform to local manufacturers in a market overwhelmed by mass production. These artists, women and mothers, are examples of resolute temperaments and unique sensibilities and are our inspiration today and every day.

There is something magical about first impressions; their influence echoes through your work for the rest of your life.


Ippolita Rostagno

DIARIO 01, ISSUE 11

Women, Artists, Mothers

In the male-dominated world of architecture and design of the 20th century Gae Aulenti, Gabriella Crespi, Charlotte Perriand, and Andrée Putman were brilliant exceptions. Their indomitable spirits inspired the careers of their daughters.

Gae Aulenti 4794 Lounge Chair for Kartell, c. 1972

©Corbis/Vogue Italia


Aulenti’s 1993 Tour table for Fontana Arte

Gae Aulenti: Objects, Spaces by Vanni Pasca

Milanese Gae Aulenti and Gabriella Crespi were trailblazers. Gae Aulenti studied architecture in defiance of her parents’ hope that she would be “a nice society girl.” She was prolific and successful, and her projects include the refurbishments of Musée d’Orsay and Centre Pompidou in Paris, and Palazzo Grassi in Venice. Her many interests led her to work also on stage sets for the opera. Her daughter, Giovanna Buzzi, shared this passion for the theater, becoming an acclaimed costume designer.

The Great Hall of the Musee D'Orsay Art Gallery and Museum. ©Benh LIEU SONG/wikicommons

In France there were two queens of creativity: Andrée Putman and Charlotte Perriand. Andrée Putman was a furniture and interior designer who founded the company Ecart and established herself internationally for her chic interiors, which were quickly embraced by the couture world. She had a talent for translating a unique fashion style into interior décor and was hired by important designers like Azzedine Alaïa and Karl Lagerfeld. Her daughter Olivia is a designer as well and heir to her mother’s Studio Putman.

Anne Fontaine NYC by Andrée Putman. ©Studio Putman

Compass Dans L'Oeil Table Lamp by Andreé Putman for Baldinger & Sons, 1980s. ©Felix Bachmann

©Antonio Terron/AD Spain


©2019 BRABBU/DESIGN FORCES.

Good design is pure and simple, and I am interested in that family of things that will never date.


Andrée Putman

Putman compatriot Charlotte Perriand was a pioneer of the modernist movement. Although initially turned down by Le Corbusier’s studio because she was a woman, the architect finally hired her to design all the interiors for his projects. Perriand created furniture using steel, leather, and other materials that were then rarely used in domestic settings and worked under the belief that beautiful design leads to a better life. She was undoubtedly one of the most important designers of the 20th century and her daughter Pernette worked alongside her for over 25 years.

Pictured with Le Corbusier in 1939, Perriand delights in a rocky readymade recliner. © Fondation le Corbusier


LC7 Swivel Chair designed by Perriand & Le Corbusier, 1928

The designer in 1934. Archives Charlotte Perriand 2013


Antony Daybed by Jean Prouvé and Charlotte Perriand, 1950s

Ippolita has much in common with these women. She is a mother of two and her voracious artistic temperament has always given her the need to express herself creatively. She started first as a sculptor and then as a jewelry maker. She began crafting body ornaments with a distinct sculptural quality, launching the brand IPPOLITA. With her experimental approach to jewelry, she has invented new stone cuts and precious metal alloys to accurately give shape to her vision. Her passion for craftsmanship and the urge to save Italian artisanal tradition led her to start a second company, Artemest. This leading online destination for luxury Made-in-Italy products gives a global platform to local manufacturers in a market overwhelmed by mass production. These artists, women and mothers, are examples of resolute temperaments and unique sensibilities and are our inspiration today and every day.

There is something magical about first impressions; their influence echoes through your work for the rest of your life.


Ippolita Rostagno

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DIARIO 01, ISSUE 11

Women, Artists, Mothers

In the male-dominated world of architecture and design of the 20th century Gae Aulenti, Gabriella Crespi, Charlotte Perriand, and Andrée Putman were brilliant exceptions. Their indomitable spirits inspired the careers of their daughters.

©Corbis/Vogue Italia


Gae Aulenti 4794 Lounge Chair for Kartell, c. 1972



Gae Aulenti: Objects, Spaces by Vanni Pasca

Aulenti’s 1993 Tour table for Fontana Arte

Milanese Gae Aulenti and Gabriella Crespi were trailblazers. Gae Aulenti studied architecture in defiance of her parents’ hope that she would be “a nice society girl.” She was prolific and successful, and her projects include the refurbishments of Musée d’Orsay and Centre Pompidou in Paris, and Palazzo Grassi in Venice. Her many interests led her to work also on stage sets for the opera. Her daughter, Giovanna Buzzi, shared this passion for the theater, becoming an acclaimed costume designer.

The Great Hall of the Musee D'Orsay Art Gallery and Museum. © Benh LIEU SONG/wikicommons

As Gae Aulenti was austere, Gabriella Crespi was glamorous. Crespi was born and married into rich Milanese families but was more interested in expressing herself creatively than in leading a bourgeois life, and became famous for her handcrafted objects and furniture (she patented the mechanisms that made her sculptural cabinets open like clamshells.) Daughter Elisabetta collaborated with her mother on a series of “metamorphic” furniture and celebrated her mother’s exceptional life by opening her house to the public during Milan Design Week 2018.


A portrait of Gabriella Crespi. (1970) ©Oliviero Toscani/Archivio Gabriella Crespi


Brass over wood desk by Gabriella Crespi, c. 1975

Gabriella and Elisabetta Crespi - Milan, 2011 © SGP

Work for her was like another child:

she never wanted to part from it.

She was happy only when she had

her craftsmen by her side.


Elisabetta, daughter of Gabriella Crespi, on her mother.

©James Mollison/The Wall Street Journal Magazine (May 2015).

In France there were two queens of creativity: Andrée Putman and Charlotte Perriand. Andrée Putman was a furniture and interior designer who founded the company Ecart and established herself internationally for her chic interiors, which were quickly embraced by the couture world. She had a talent for translating a unique fashion style into interior décor and was hired by important designers like Azzedine Alaïa and Karl Lagerfeld. Her daughter Olivia is a designer as well and heir to her mother’s Studio Putman.

Anne Fontaine NYC by Andrée Putman. ©Studio Putman

Compass Dans L'Oeil Table Lamp by Andreé Putman for Baldinger & Sons, 1980s. ©Felix Bachmann

©2019 BRABBU/DESIGN FORCES.

© Antonio Terron/AD Spain

Good design is pure and simple, and I am interested in that family of things that will never date.


Andrée Putman

The designer in 1934. Archives Charlotte Perriand 2013


Putman compatriot Charlotte Perriand was a pioneer of the modernist movement. Although initially turned down by Le Corbusier’s studio because she was a woman, the architect finally hired her to design all the interiors for his projects. Perriand created furniture using steel, leather, and other materials that were then rarely used in domestic settings and worked under the belief that beautiful design leads to a better life. She was undoubtedly one of the most important designers of the 20th century and her daughter Pernette worked alongside her for over 25 years.

Pictured with Le Corbusier in 1939, Perriand delights in a rocky readymade recliner. © Fondation le Corbusier


LC7 Swivel Chair designed by Perriand & Le Corbusier, 1928

Antony Daybed by Jean Prouvé and Charlotte Perriand, 1950s

Ippolita has much in common with these women. She is a mother of two and her voracious artistic temperament has always given her the need to express herself creatively. She started first as a sculptor and then as a jewelry maker. She began crafting body ornaments with a distinct sculptural quality, launching the brand IPPOLITA. With her experimental approach to jewelry, she has invented new stone cuts and precious metal alloys to accurately give shape to her vision. Her passion for craftsmanship and the urge to save Italian artisanal tradition led her to start a second company, Artemest. This leading online destination for luxury Made-in-Italy products gives a global platform to local manufacturers in a market overwhelmed by mass production. These artists, women and mothers, are examples of resolute temperaments and unique sensibilities and are our inspiration today and every day.

There is something magical about first impressions; their influence echoes through your work for the rest of your life.


Ippolita Rostagno

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