Magis is an Italian company specialized in the design, manufacturing and marketing of furniture, complements and accessories. The company was born in 1976 in Motta di Livenza, in the Treviso area, thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit and to the vision of Eugenio Perazza, who was named by the “trendsetter’s bible” Wallpaper, one of the most influential trend setters in this sector at a global level. The success of Magis relies on its founding values that encompass the excellence of the Made in Italy and a family management that enables to create synergies with all employees, partners and designers. As a matter of fact, Magis has since ever worked hand in hand with world-renowned designers such as Stefano Giovannoni, Konstantin Grcic, Marcel Wanders, Naoto Fukasawa, Philippe Starck, Zaha Hadid, to mention some of them, but has always been open to collaborate with young designers too. Jean-Marie Massaud and Jerszy Seymour have debuted on the design scene thanks to the opportunities offered them by Magis. The company has a heterogeneous catalog of products with a forceful personality and a strong history to tell, centered upon the home environment and the contract sector. From the seats to the colorful home accessories, all products are of a top-notch quality and some of them have become design icons and also exhibited in permanent collections in museums such as the MoMA in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Magis: iconic collections that mark the history
In 1984 the Step folding stool by Andries & Hiroko van Onck had an amazing success and launched the brand name on the international panorama. Since then a long list of successes have marked the history of Magis. The goal of this company has ever since been to manufacture products that are accessible to large segments of the international market, no one excluded. This is also why in 2004 edition of the Salone di Milano, Magis dedicated an entire collection to 2 to 5 years old children, titled Me too. Colored and playful, it was developed together with renowned designers and experts in the field of pedagogy. A full collection tailored upon kids, their world and the diversity within it. Puppy and Trioli, both by Eero Aarnio and awarded with the Compasso d’Oro, are iconic pieces that reflect all the attention of the company towards children’s world. Next to the classic lines, the “Fuoritema” line made its appearance as a bridge of creativity among different worlds, such as pets’ that has been looked at by Michael Young with the “Magis Dog House” in 2001. In 2010, Magis moved its headquarters to Torre di Mosto (VE), in a complex of almost 100 thousands m², also included a 3.500 m² showroom where all the creations that marked the endless ascent of the company in the world of design are exhibited. From the One collection by Konstantin Grcic, to the Bombo stool by Stefano Giovannoni, the Steelwood chair by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec and the Spun garden armchair by Thomas Heatherwick, awarded with the Compasso d’Oro. In more recent history, it was the time for the productive Konstantin Grcic with his Brut sofa collection to be awarded with the IF Design Award. The innovative structure in varnished cast iron is of an extraordinarily light and airy design, capable, at the same time, to make a statement. The seating is made of velvety cushions in expanded polyurethane while the back consists of a simple cylinder. Both parts are available with a covering in fabrics by Kvadrat, Torri Lana or Glamour.
Objects of every-day-use reinterpreted by Magis
As of today, Magis takes the look of an international laboratory for design experimentation, both on the point of view of the contents and of technological innovation. Its identity is developed around the high technological profile of series production. The reinterpretation of ordinary items, even the less sophisticate ones, is characterized by an innovative application of the plastic materials. Magis has been, indeed, the first company in the world to apply the air molding technique to print plastic objects.
An example of the application of this technique that requires a certain design virtuosity are the Milà chairs by Jaime Hayon and the Air-armchair stackable garden chair designed by Jasper Morrison, together with its Folding Air-armchair folding version.
In products by Magis, plastic and metal blend together in an impeccable way, a perfect synonym to the fusion between the craftsmanship tradition and the industrial technology, function and aesthetics. An example of this marriage is given by the popular Mariolina chair designed by Enzo Mari in 2002, inspired by a design from the ‘50s, with seating and backrest in polypropylene that rest on a powder-coated steel frame. For along time Magis has been successfully experimenting with pairing different materials, some of which unusual, like in the case of Konstantin Grcic’s Chair One with its seating in die-cast plastic-coated aluminum resting on a cement base, or in Marcel Wanders’s Cyborg Chair, with a seating in air-molded polycarbonate and back in wicker.
In Magis catalog there is also space for wood, like for the refined Butch-The Wild Butch table by Konstantin Grcic, featuring tapered legs in natural beech, a polypropylene-seales tabletop in HPL, or the awesome Steelwood Chair by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec that combines in its harmonious and airy design materials such as solid wood and stainless steel foil. Its products in recycled polypropylene are distinctive of Magis. It is for instance the case of the Bell Chair stackable chair, designed by Konstantin Grcic and included in the 2020 catalog.
Magis on Archiproducts e-commerce
Discover all products by Magis on sale on Archiproducts online shop! From Bombo, the most imitated stool in the world, till the Compasso d’Oro winner Steelwood chair and the playful objects for kids. Find a product by Magis for all your needs!
