Poltrona Frau

Heritage

Poltrona Frau was founded in Turin in 1912 by Renzo Frau, a Sardinian-born former sales representative who had discovered Chesterfield armchairs in Great Britain. His furnishings quickly won over the Turin elite, and in 1924 the company became official supplier to the Italian Royal Family, the year the 1919 armchair was commissioned by the Duke of Pistoia. In 1930 Poltrona Frau furnished the ocean liners Rex and Conte Grande, and the Vanity Fair armchair was born. After Renzo's early death in 1926 his wife Savina led the company. In 1962, under the Gabrielli-Brandi family, production moved to Tolentino in the Marche region, still the company's home.

Philosophy

The company presents itself as "one brand, three souls": Residential Living, Custom Interiors and In Motion. Its identity rests on leather and handcraft: the Poltrona Frau Museum, designed by Michele De Lucchi, is organised under the theme l'intelligenza delle mani, "the intelligence of the hands". In 2022 the company introduced Pelle Frau® Impact Less, a leather with reduced environmental impact.

Iconic Works

• Vanity Fair (Renzo Frau, 1930)
• 1919 armchair (Renzo Frau)
• Dezza armchair by Gio Ponti (1965)
• Intervista armchair by Lella and Massimo Vignelli (1989)
• Titano table-desk by Pierluigi Cerri, Compasso d'Oro 1999
• Archibald armchair by Jean-Marie Massaud (2009)

Today

Poltrona Frau has been part of the Haworth family since 2014 and belongs to Haworth Lifestyle, alongside Cassina, Cappellini, Ceccotti and other design brands. Custom Interiors, established with the Frau Hall at the Synagogue of Spoleto in 1985, furnishes theatres, hotels and public spaces such as the European Parliament, while Poltrona Frau In Motion (2007) brings its seating to aircraft, yachts and luxury cars. The Poltrona Frau Museum opened in Tolentino for the centenary in 2012.