Nicolas Roche, collections director of the iconic Parisian furniture brand that bears his name, can be forgiven, in the announcement of the company’s newest showroom and latest collection, for calling Milan “the Italian capital.” (It’s Rome.) But that speaks to the primacy of Milan as an epicenter of global design—and he has every reason to be jazzed about Roche Bobois’s new location on Milan’s via Felice Cavallotti after a brutal 2020 and a strong recovery in 2021. There’s something celebratory, almost giddy, about the new pieces—some of them are abstract but most are rigorously geometric. None of them are somber.
“While building on its ongoing collaborations—as with Eugeni Quitllet and his impressive desk in the Pulp collection, awash in lacquered white—Roche Bobois continues to seek out budding talent and keeps a close eye on the latest generations,” Roche says. “This continuous prospecting reflects our determination to anticipate future expressions. New collaborations include American designer Sean Connors and the poetic, articulated Oiseau floor lamp, Simone Cagnazzo and his tilting armchair, Florence Bourel and her marble Strate lamp made from recycled offcuts, and Catalan designer Pepe Llaudet with his Sail lamps.”
Of course, Roche Bobois showrooms are also found closer to home—in Miami, Aventura, Coral Gables and Palm Beach. Here’s a sampling of the pieces that debuted in Milan this year.
Shown: Polygonia sideboard
