Willy Rizzo, the glamour of the 1970s

Before designing furniture, Willy Rizzo (1928-2013) photographed Brigitte Bardot, Salvador Dalí and Coco Chanel. When this Italo-French talent put down his Leica to open a design studio in 1968, he brought into furniture what he had learned from portraiture: a sense of light, frame and aura. So came his famous coffee tables in chrome, brass and smoked glass, now absolute emblems of seventies decoration. Pieces that don't seek quiet comfort: they seek the stage. Willy Rizzo coffee tables, particularly his chromed steel and brass models with sliding tops or bar functions, are now among the most sought-after 1970s vintage pieces on the market. Prices rise, the aura doesn't fade. To hunt for that extra retro-chic soul in any interior.