Studio Irvine was founded by James Irvine in Milan, Italy in 1988. James Irvine was born in London and graduated in 1984 from The Royal College of Art, London. He moved to Milan the same year. From 1984 to 1992 he was a design consultant for Olivetti Design Studio designing industrial products under the direction of Michele De Lucchi and Ettore Sottsass. From 1993 to 1997 in parallel to his private studio, he was a partner of Sottsass Associati Milan and and was responsible for the industrial design group. In 2004 he was also elected RDI (Royal Designer for Industry) by the Royal Society of Arts in London and in 2007 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Design from Kingston University.
During its long career, Studio Irvine in Milan has worked with various internationally renowned companies including Alias, Arper, Artemide, B&B Italia, Canon, Coro, Duravit, Foscarini, LG, Magis, Marsotto Edizioni, MDF Italia, Muji, Olivari, Olivetti, Phaidon, Ströer, Thonet, Whirlpool, WMF and Zumtobel. After James Irvine’s premature death in 2013, Studio Irvine found its natural continuity in the figures of Marialaura Rossiello Irvine (partner at James Irvine Srl since 2009) and Maddalena Casadei (right arm of Irvine for nine years).
Marialaura Rossiello was born in Naples, where she graduated in Architecture. She moved to Milan for a Master's degree in Strategic Design and Brand Management at the MIP, Milano Politecnico, School of Management in 2000. As a design consultant and art director, she worked on the development of products from concept to finished product for various design brands. From 2001 to 2004 she was responsible for new product development at Danese, and from 2004-2006, she was head of marketing. Since 2012 she has been the art director of the brand Matteo Brioni. Maddalena Casadei was born in Forlì and graduated in Architecture in Ferrara. She moved to Milan for a Master's in Industrial Design at Domus Academy in 2002, where she continues to work. In 2004, she joined studio Irvine, dealing with different design projects, interior and exhibit design, while also running her own studio from 2010 which has now converged with Studio Irvine.
The clarity of James Irvine’s working method that he had developed over the years and the belief that the signature is not priority in design, have given strength to the will of Marialaura Rossiello and Maddalena Casadei to secure a future for studio Irvine. James’ rigorous yet at the same time ironic approach was a training in design but also in life. Based on the idea of design inspired by attention to ethics, the ‘human factor’ and personal interaction (by client, technicians, workers, consumers), Studio Irvine is instilled with a vision in constant evolution rooted in the classics of the Italian design school but formed with a broader international breath.
The cross-disciplinary projects in the history of studio, from the design of bus to the design of a pen, shows the continuing tension and curiosity for all types and scales of projects. The studio is characterized today as a place where the collection of objects, prototypes, pictures, souvenirs, collections, drawings has the power to function as a continuing source of inspiration. Studio Irvine continues to work with Amorim, Muji, Marsotto Edizioni, Kettal, Phaidon, but it also opens up to new design challenges in the field of the product identity and brand consolidation for industrial companies wishing to approach the world of design.
