Everything You Need To Know About Visionnaire Furniture

If there's one Italian furniture brand that is synonymous with meta luxury, it is Visionnaire. From their humble beginnings as a small seating upholstery business to world domination through furniture, art, architecture and even NFTs, Visionnaire has taken the concept of Italian design and expanded it into a universe where boundaries no longer exist.

Their collections have earned worldwide admiration and pride of place on super yachts, in private jets and in some of the most exclusive private residences around the globe. This is the story of a family and their ascent to the very top echelons of design, where luxury is a birthright and perfection is the starting point.

The Visionnaire Story

In 1959, in the small town of Zola Predosa just outside the Italian city of Bologna, three brothers started a business producing upholstered seating. They called their company IPE, an acronym that stands for Imbottiture Prodotti Espansi, which means "padded upholstery products".

The brothers, Carlo, Pompeo and Vittorio Cavalli, had developed a revolutionary polyurethane moulding technology that instantly caught the attention of Lancia Automobiles, who snapped up IPE seats for their luxury cars.

With their entrepreneurial spirits in full bloom, it didn't take long for the Cavalli brothers to set their sights on the next natural goal: to apply their unique technology to the world of luxury seating. In 1961, they collaborated with sculptor Rito Valla to design the Mercury armchair and took their creation to the first edition of the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan, an event they have attended every year since.

Around this time, the second generation joined the family business with Vittorio’s son, Luigi Cavalli, guiding the expansion of the brand to create seating for the international market. But it wasn't until 2004 with the advent of Luigi's children, Leopold and Eleonore, that Visionnaire was born. 

Visionnaire is the epitome of high-end luxury. It was created with the aim of becoming one of the most prestigious designer furniture brands in the world, a goal that it has decisively achieved. Visionnaire is renowned for having their uber-luxurious Italian furniture and lighting featured in the most expensive interiors in the world - literally. Over two thousand top-of-the-range pieces are today sold in over 55 countries, winging their way to luxury yacht interiors, celebrity-owned lakeside villas and extravagant private planes.

A Vision of Meta-Luxury

Visionnaire's collections combine exceptional craftsmanship with precious materials and unexpected designs. The brand's philosophy is built around the concept of meta-luxury, an ideology that represents both the exclusivity of the brand's products and the inclusivity of their practices.

Among these are respect for the environment, choosing sustainable materials and resources and a work ethic that protects and uplifts every person or company who collaborates with them, no matter how small.

Visionnaire has built a network of "craft hubs" throughout Italy, allowing them to use local craftspeople to create and test new lines of extraordinary products through the mixing and matching of locally sourced materials.

A Vision of Beauty

Visionnaire's philosophy draws from the concept of beauty as an everyday value. One of their most popular lines is appropriately called the Beauty collection and includes over 60 products in collaboration with international designers such as Draga & Aurel and Alessandro La Spada. and Marco Piva. 

Their interior design team doesn't just design bespoke interiors, they create art. In 2019, they opened their second showroom in America, a deluxe boutique in Los Angeles offering fully customisable pieces and offering an immersive, three-dimensional experience, along with direct access to the design team. This West Hollywood showroom joins 30 other international Visionnaire locations around the world.

Each piece in the showroom is handmade in collaboration with Italian artisans, each of whom specialises in particular materials local to their towns or districts. The result is a carefully curated collection of custom-made Italian craftsmanship and heritage.

“The industrial process doesn’t allow you to have all this freedom in combining materials and shapes,” says Eleonore Cavalli, who is herself a trained architect. “I personally chose every piece of marble [in this collection].”

Visionnaire in London

Visionnaire has a design showroom in London that can be booked by appointment only. Can't wait that long to find the luxury statement piece you've been lusting after? Get in touch with our team of interior designers and let's see if we can help. We have an extensive range of curated luxury furniture from the world's best brands and our North London showroom is open 7 days a week.