Fabiola and Andrea of Redduo met us at their first studio, this year transformed into their first gallery and opened to the public during Milan Design Week. Both came through fashion before landing in interior design - Fabiola as stylist and art director at brands like Costume National and Armani, Andrea as creative director at Diesel - and that cross-disciplinary thinking shows up everywhere in how they talk: about materials, about collaboration, about what the industry still gets wrong.
This week they're showing their own new body of work while also being behind Cucchi × Marni, a hospitality takeover that will add some new color to the iconic pasticceria for the next three months.
Fabiola Di Virgilio and Andrea Rosso at their Project for Estea Beauty Studio.
Both of you started in fashion and ended up in interiors - what can fashion learn from interior design, and vice versa?
They're two very different worlds, but today they communicate well. The biggest difference is time. Fashion moves fast – collections, many pieces, constant output. In design, you can spend a year on a single object. That changes the quality of devotion you bring to it. The time you give to material, form, composition - it's a completely different relationship. And I think that's what each world can learn from the other.
Japanese architecture keeps showing up in your work, what did it teach you that Italy couldn’t?
There's a real exchange between the two. A lot of people from Japan come to Italy for materials. And there's something, especially from the '70s, that brought Japan and Italy to sort of love each other. There's a lot to learn from Japan, but also a lot to learn from the Italian way of thinking about material - simple materials, simple lines, an essential atmosphere. I think when it comes to material, it could almost be one united way of thinking.
at RedDuo Galleria.
You're also behind Cucchi × Marni this week, and we're seeing hospitality and design collabs everywhere right now. What's the difference between a collaboration that actually works and one that's just a branded room?
Conceptually, a collaboration works when it's organically connected. When the two worlds actually have something to say to each other, not when one is dressed in the other's logo. The material, the idea, the atmosphere - they need to come from a shared place. Otherwise it's just a brand exercise. Both Marni and Cucchi are two very Milanese brands. We love that the take-over is also something that is not just on for Milan Design Week but will actually remain there for the next three months.
RedDuo for Marni x Cucchi in Milan.
What's one thing at Milan Design Week that's overrated? Or underrated?
[laughs] Careful what you say.
I'll say underrated. There are so many nice, new projects at Design Week that aren't very well understood yet. A lot of freshness - new studios, new collectibles - but people are focused on what's already been set for years. It's worth paying attention to the new projects. Our friends, for example, are showing a whole new body of work for the first time, a huge project they've been working on for a long time. There's a lot going on if you look.
If I had to say something that's missing - I'd like to see more attention to sustainability and responsibility. Milan is a good city for Salone, not too big, not too small, and it welcomes a lot of the international design world. But there isn't enough substantial attention to what could be remade responsibly - recycled materials, the thinking behind what a piece is actually made of. Coming from the fabric world, I see so much potential that isn't being used. Fabric is a compound and there are interesting solutions out there, but not yet at the level they should be. That's a missing part.
You operate as a duo. What's the one design decision you always disagree on?
[laughs] Almost everything. No - we disagree on a lot, but when we agree it's the best of both of us. We've learned to share the parts. One of us is very focused on color, the other on material. We've come to understand our roles.
Any studios or events on your radar that aren't on everyone else's yet?
It's hard today, with the way we communicate, to find the real new. But you develop a sensibility for it - for the thing that's small now and could become big. There are so many young designers with maybe one idea, and after they explore it, they might become the next new name. That's the beauty of the design world. Everything is seen, but it's up to your own judgment to decide what could become the object, or the person, that defines what comes next.
Perfect. Thanks so much for your time.
See you tonight at Cucchi × Marni.
RedDuo for Marni x Cucchi.
