Mario Bellini, the Italian total designer

Mario Bellini (born 1935) is one of those names that on their own sum up the golden age of Italian design. Architect, designer, former artistic director of Olivetti, he has signed everything: furniture for Cassina, B&B Italia and Vitra, electronic typewriters that entered the MoMA, cars, skyscrapers in Milan. His signature? A warm geometric rigour that never forgets that an object is made to be lived with. Seven Compassi d'Oro later, his influence on contemporary design is simply immense.

The Camaleonda sofa (1970), edited by B&B Italia, and the Le Bambole family (1972), with its puffy foam seats, remain his most iconic pieces. Vintage sofas that defined the very idea of Italian Seventies comfort.