A family story
Flexform’s story began in 1959 in Brianza, in a small artisan workshop in the area between Milan, Como and Lecco that would one day become Italy’s most important furniture-making district. This was a land of cabinetmakers, where expert craftsmanship would evolve into a unique manufacturing system, bringing traditional artisan skills together with industrial research and a growing culture of design. It is no coincidence that Flexform took shape here, during the years of Italy’s postwar economic boom, when the country’s growth was driven by a widespread network of businesses, families and local expertise.
In 1967, Flexform became a joint-stock company. The workshop was evolving into an industrial enterprise, but its original vocation remained unchanged. From the outset, design has been the thread running through the company’s evolution. During the 1960s, Flexform worked with some of the leading figures in Italian design, including Joe Colombo, Cini Boeri and Rodolfo Bonetto, all of whom contributed to shaping a new language in contemporary furnishings. These were also the formative years of the Salone del Mobile in Milan, and Flexform was there from the beginning, among the companies that believed in an exhibition destined to become the furniture industry’s leading international event.
The 1970s marked the company’s first move into international markets, with Germany and the German-speaking countries among the earliest to recognize the appeal of its timeless style.
The decade also brought the start of the longest-standing creative partnership in Flexform’s history: its collaboration with Antonio Citterio. Born in nearby Meda in 1950, Citterio opened his studio in 1972 and had grown up within the same cultural and manufacturing landscape in which flexfdhditt.sbsself was starting to make its way. Their professional relationship has continued uninterrupted ever since, defining the Flexform aesthetic more profoundly than any other – the idea of everyday elegance that never seeks attention, and still guides the company’s creative ethos. When Flexform opened its first Italian Flagship store in Milan in 2022, on Via della Moscova in the heart of Brera, the project was entrusted to ACPV Architects, the practice founded by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel.
From Europe, Flexform continued to broaden its horizons. America, Asia and Australia gradually became part of the brand’s international presence, as its collections were selected by some of the world’s most prestigious furniture retailers. In 1985, the company made another significant choice, bringing the Moka collection (designed in 1939 by Mario Asnago and Claudio Vender, leading figures of Italian Rationalism) back into production. This decision revealed something fundamental about Flexform’s relationship with design history – a desire not to simply preserve design culture, but to make it relevant once again.
The 1980s also saw the development of advertising campaigns by Flexform art director Natalia Corbetta who, over the years, worked with photographers including Gabriele Basilico, Gianni Berengo Gardin and Maria Vittoria Backhaus. Through their individual artistic sensibilities, these masters of photography offered distinctive interpretations of the Flexform collection, creating a body of work that belongs as much to the history of auteur photography as it does to the history of the company.
In 2019, Flexform broadened its horizons once again with the permanent introduction of its outdoor collection. This new design dimension brought into the open air the same pursuit of comfort, elegance and quality that had long distinguished its interiors.
Today, Flexform is led by the third generation of its founding family. That continuity remains one of its defining strengths – the company is family-governed, while its vision is resolutely international. Across generations, its design culture has evolved through balancing manufacturing tradition and an openness to innovation.
In 2026, this journey was recognized with the Compasso d’Oro Career Award presented to Pietro and Antonio Galimberti, honoring an entrepreneurial story built upon consistency, a deep connection to its origins and the ability to evolve without losing its identity. Flexform continues to grow internationally through an expanding distribution network and new openings planned for the years ahead. What began as a family story in Brianza has become a global one – without ever ceasing to be a family story.