Meet the creative powerhouse behind Italian furniture brand Kartell

After just a half-hour chat with Kartell's marketing and retail director Lorenza Luti, it's clear that this is a woman who really does it all. Not only is she at the helm of the family business, but she also runs the Kartell Museum, is a member of the Italian Industrial Museums Committee, and fits family life in there, too.

Along with her team—which has grown from two to ten in the last twenty years—Luti works on everything from the stores, catalogues, and branding to strategies, events, affairs, and products. Both Luti and her brother Federico represent the third generation of the family that founded and still leads Kartell. But despite being the daughter of the company's CEO, Claudio Luti, the job certainly wasn't handed to her on a plate.

Since she was young, Luti would come to Kartell for parties and presentations, and Salone de Mobile was a coveted event they visited every year to represent the brand. Though the family is clearly very close, her father would say to her and her brother growing up: "You will work here if you deserve it."

So, Luti set out on her own path and came to Kartell at a natural point in her career after gaining experience elsewhere.

"A very good beginning"

When Luti was completing her university degree, she decided to write her thesis on Kartell, specifically on how companies were evolving through the generations. It was then that she really started studying Kartell more, getting stuck into the history and understanding the values, innovation, creativity, and design philosophy the company was built on.

Luti compares the Kartell brand and lifestyle to fashion companies in that they're always very busy, travelling around the world, working on new projects, and seeking new collaborations. Funnily enough, Luti's first venture into the world of work was at fashion brand Ermenegildo Zegna.

"I knew I wanted to work at Kartell, but also that my brother and I needed another experience before coming here," she says. Like her role today, Luti worked in Ermenegildo Zegna's retail office and the marketing department. "They are a beautiful family company, so it was really a very good beginning," she adds.

It was Anna Zegna who told Luti to go to her own family company as soon as possible and not to waste time. When Luti eventually decided to take a role at Kartell, they were in the middle of building the retail office, as the brand was opening all of its flagship stores at the time. Two days later, a marketing director position opened up, and she started to work closely with her father.

"A great innovator"

At Kartell, Luti works more on the product, marketing, retail, and branding side, while her brother is in charge of anything commercial. The siblings work together on finances since they both studied economics, and their father is always around, too.

In the beginning, Luti's grandfather was also very present, which they all loved. She describes him as "a great innovator", adding that "everything was a challenge, and he was really curious in everything he did". Luti has tried to keep that same spirit alive through her role at the company.

Her father shares that same quality of innovation and motivation. Luti says: "He's never satisfied, so he's always looking for something better.

"We have a very strong identity, which we try to keep from the past, but also innovate with time and with the changes in the world."

In the last ten years, Kartell has committed a huge amount of time and resources to sustainability and the company's digital presence. According to Luti, the family is all on the same page when it comes to the company's direction, which is an achievement in itself.

"Made in Milano"

Kartell started prioritising its global presence in the 1950s and 1960s. Along with MoMa, Kartell was also one of the first to arrive in New York in 1973, giving it an edge over some other big names in furniture.

Italian design has long been desired worldwide, so it's no surprise that 80% of Kartell's turnover comes from outside Italy. "We love to share what we do globally, and not just in Italy, in what we do for the stores, for the windows, for the collection, and the communication," says Luti.

She recognises the importance of representing the brand worldwide, so the family travels to the most important cities and countries each year, dividing and conquering. In the last year alone, Luti has travelled to Dubai and London, her brother to China, and her father to Japan. "It really opens your mind. And it's also nice to have a relationship with our partners," Luti adds.

While travelling, Luti has noticed the value of Italian design even more. "Design is really structured in the northern part of Italy, and it also adds value that designers from all over the world come here to produce their products and partner with Italian companies," she explains. This is the reason why Kartell has included "Made in Milano" in its logo for so long.

"Italian heart and British heart"

Regarding collaborations, Kartell has chosen quality over quantity, focusing on one big brand partnership every two or three years. Their recent project with Liberty London arrived by chance through Luti's relationship with someone on the Italian team.

She says: "It was lovely to work with them because they are a fantastic team, and it's not always like that - especially when you work with fashion companies.

"They have Italian and British hearts, and we have small teams at Kartell and Liberty, so we really know each other now and work very well together."

The only challenge came at the beginning of the collaboration when Liberty gave Kartell much freedom regarding the designs and fabrics (as you can imagine, the archive is huge). As a result, Liberty developed some proposals for themes, which Kartell chose.

"We really worked a lot, not only in choosing the patterns that were all redrawn from the archives but also working on the fabrics, which they did in Italy, especially for us, because they had to have special features for our products," Luti explains. "The creativity was more from the London team, and they also helped us a lot to redesign and apply some of our colours in the Liberty designs, while in Italy, it was more the fabric and innovation side."

Liberty and Kartell are currently working on other products for the next Salone de Mobile this April.

"It really changes peoples' perceptions"

The Kartell Museum was founded in 1999, when Luti's grandfather was still alive and could tell first-hand stories about the first decades of the business. The building that houses the museum was actually designed by Luti's grandmother and Italian architect and designer Ignazio Gardella.

"When my grandfather passed away, I had the honour to take his role in the museum," says Luti. "We did a lot of exhibitions around the world and stopped a little bit with the COVID-19, but now we are working again."

In addition to having permanent collections, Kartell works on exhibitions all year round, including with other museums and cultural institutes. Of course, having Kartell's whole history on show is a real privilege, but Luti notes that it is also one of their strongest communication instruments, whether they're approaching a new client, showing around a new employee, or hosting visitors.

"When we do the tour at the museum, it really changes peoples' perceptions, and they understand a lot more about the heritage of Kartell, including the Italian design story," she explains.

Kartell was also one of the ten founding companies in the Italian Museums Committee, which comprises over 100 Italian businesses committed to preserving their heritage.

Luti says: "I think that in Italy, we have this kind of association, and it is incredible to see all these companies, from food and fashion to trains, and how they maintained pieces to build up an archive or a museum.

The committee's museums also like to collaborate on various exhibitions. Kartell has partnered with Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli, pasta brand Barilla, and—with their new neighbour—coffee machine company La Cimbali.

"Choosing the right projects for the designers"

Going forward, Luti intends to maintain the collection and guarantee the products' future success, some of which are real icons in the design world. She says: "Choosing the right projects for the designers is also very important, so we have the best relationships with them.

"We have designers who have been working with Kartell for over 30 years because we try to make products that make them happy but are good for the company, too."

Her and her family's ultimate dream, though, is to have the Kartell window in all of the world's most important cities. Luti reveals that this might mean fewer stores in the future, but those remaining will be of higher quality and show the brand's lifestyle and identity.