Elena Salmistraro

Background

Elena Salmistraro is an Italian product designer and artist who lives and works in Milan. After studying at the school of art in Brera, she graduated from the Polytechnic University of Milan in Fashion Design in 2003 and later in Industrial Design in 2008. Together with architect Angelo Stoli she founded her studio in 2009, taking on projects from architecture to design, art, fashion, illustration and the visual arts in general.

Signature Style

Her work draws on illustrations, street art, fashion and masks, animals and nature, as well as traditions, mythology and cultures from around the world. Her studio describes her creations as eclectic, joyful and imaginative, defined by three-dimensional texture and vivid colours full of energy. One priority is the study of the harmony of shapes and the expressiveness of objects; in her words, emotion is a function of the object.

Notable Works

The vase collection Primates, designed for Bosa Ceramiche in 2017, is described as an expression of contemporary primitivism and has become an iconic object of Italian design. She works for companies including Alessi, Cappellini, Vitra, Moooi, Driade, Natuzzi and Lavazza.

Legacy

In 2017 the Salone del Mobile Milano gave her its Award as Best Emerging Designer. In 2022 she received the Frame Design Award as Best Designer, and in 2023 she was named designer of the year for the Frankfurt Ambiente Fair. She also teaches at Istituto Marangoni, Abadir University and the Milan Polytechnic.