Visionnaire: 20 years into the future. A blend of luxury, ethics and sustainability
Residential project, Malibu, United States, Visionnaire
The lifestyle brand is celebrating its 20th anniversary with an ongoing commitment to safeguarding the natural heritage and human capital. It sees business as a promoter of positive value for the community
Anniversaries always prompt reflections on one’s origins and on one’s future, those ending in round figures particularly. Visionnaire, a leading luxury sector company, is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and has its roots in the strong bond with its parent company IPE of Bologna – which is also busy with its own major celebration, that of its 65th anniversary – and was one of the far-sighted pioneers of the new parameters of luxury, launching its revolutionary "vision" in 2004: the luxury design collection expressly named Visionnaire.
The company’s approach to the future is made clear by its deeply committed decisions from 2017 onwards, prompting the launch of its sustainable Greenway collection, composed of iconic bestsellers re-proposed in an eco-friendly version, considered the point of no return of a process of experimentation, involving both innovative solutions and the rediscovery of artisan techniques. A new paradigm of luxury is thus delineated: "The term meta-luxury indicates that the value of a product is not simply linked to its external appearance, but is linked to the essence of the people around it, who will increasingly want to use and be surrounded by objects that express their essence," explained Eleonore Cavalli, Co-Founder & Art Director of the brand.
Babylon Rack Circle, Visionnaire - Ph. Ruggiero Scardigno
Contract Darsena del Sale, Cervia, Italy, Visionnaire
Armchair Aries, Visionnaire
Here comes the sun project, Visionnaire
The garden of beauty, Visionnaire
Puff Klipper, Visionnaire - Ph. Ruggiero Scardigno
The brand’s commitment to sustainability was further underscored in 2021 with its upgrade to a Benefit Corporation, recognising the value of conscience and responsibility in the merger of the wellbeing of the individual and the ecosystem as a whole. “The desire to protect the natural heritage is an awareness that informs – and guides – our cultural vision, which is now sensitised towards design behaviours that, from the selection of the materials to the last of the processes involved in the manufacturing cycles, embody a precise and heartfelt civil commitment. When, in 2017, we chose to embark on a path towards lower impact, in a strategic and global way, we immediately understood the complexity – as well as the necessity – of our decision,” said Eleonore Cavalli.
A credo in progress, as evidenced by its stand at the Salone del Mobile.Milano 2024, designed with a view to low environmental impact, such as the use of a new gypsum fibre material, composed of 100% recycled elements and itself 50% recyclable, and 100% recycled and 70% recyclable chipboard. Coming up in the near future is a forest conservation project in Brazil and an urban forestation operation in the Milan hinterland, carried out with the credits generated by the offsetting of emissions produced during the week of the Salone.
A sustainable philosophy chiming with the 2019 Decalogue, a manifesto of values that contains a declaration of intent focused on the company’s respect for nature, culture and heritage skills. As part of this process, a new design concept will be unveiled in the Milanese showroom next autumn once the anniversary celebrations are over, responding to the question “What if there was a place?” It will surely be a place of a thousand surprises.
