Interview with Alessandro Minotti

In the family business in the north of Milan, besides the second generation, the third generation is already at the helm; the large fan community of Minotti lives around the globe. At the Salone del Mobile, one of the world's most important furniture trade fairs, the brand annually presents its new collections for indoors and outdoors.

Zingg-Lamprecht: It's finally Salone in Milan again. What are you particularly looking forward to?
Alessandro Minotti: The best thing for me is that we can once again present the results of our work from the last three years at our large trade fair stand ­– indoor and outdoor collections. These two areas are increasingly in dialogue with each other, which is why it was important for us to be able to depict a real living situation to further illustrate this development. In terms of products, I am very happy about the new and exciting collaboration with the Japanese-Danish design duo Inoda+Sveje. And we are celebrating an anniversary: We have been working with the talented designer and architect Rodolfo Dordoni for 25 years – this is a milestone for our company.

Collaborations with well-known designers is in Minotti's DNA. What role do they play?
A very big one, because the designers bring new creative input that is integrated into the Minotti culture in an exciting process. For example, our collaboration with the Japanese star designer Nendo, which started five years ago, is characterized by a very poetic design language that is complemented with our heritage, our quality and precisely our DNA. The collections are always an interplay of diverse influences and teamwork.

How did the furniture industry change in the last two challenging years?
We have felt various phases, but these are primarily due to new customer needs. The home has moved much more into the spotlight due to the pandemic, and furnishings and furniture have increased in importance as a result, which is a very exciting development for us. We have therefore designed our Studio Collection, a series of furnishing precisely conceived for customers who want to furnish working and studying spaces, both at the office and at home.

What else is on your mind?
In addition to our plan to expand the showroom at our headquarters and to present the collection year-round, the supplychain is a very important topic at the moment. The world is changing a lot, prices are rising. Due to the global situation with raw materials becoming scarce and uncertainties due to the war, it is a big challenge for us to find reliable suppliers. For our versatile collections we need and process, for example, textiles, leather, natural stones, various woods and much more, so we need a lot of suppliers.

How will the interior industry develop?
I think that a strong brand identity that evolves will be increasingly important. And of course, innovation and quality are and will remain essential to remain unique and make people confident in their homes.

How does Minotti manage to be unique?
We have been going our way as a family business for over 70 years, we have a very strong presence in the market, and we offer our clientele collections that are characterized by a timeless yet modern elegance.

How will people be living in the future?
I think there will be a trend reversal again in terms of living space. In recent years, these have tended to be reduced with smaller apartments and houses, but I believe that in the future we will again tend to invest in larger spaces to be at home together with family and friends.

Which Minotti products can we find in your home?
Oh, there are many! It's not easy for me to choose from the new collections each time... This year I really like the «Yoko» armchair created by our new design duo Inoda+Sveje. But I'm also bringing home the «Twiggy» sofa in the new cognac leather finish. It's a real heritage piece that can stay forever.