In 1927, brothers Cesare and Umberto Cassina established 'Figli di Amedeo Cassina' in Meda, the furniture heartland of Brianza, north of Milan. What began as a modest woodworking shop crafting bespoke coffee tables and small furniture would evolve into one of the most influential design houses of the twentieth century—a brand synonymous with architectural furniture and the preservation of modernist masterpieces.
The company's early years mirrored Italy's economic struggles, producing eclectic furnishings to keep afloat during the Great Depression. But post-war reconstruction brought opportunity. Cassina secured prestigious commissions furnishing transatlantic ocean liners—the Conte Grande, Africa, Giulio Cesare, and Andrea Doria—luxury hotels, and restaurants. These projects demanded furniture with specific constructive characteristics: structural robustness, leg splay, and rigid upholstery designed for rigorous use. The experience proved invaluable, honing Cassina's understanding of durability and quality.
By 1948, the brothers recognised that true innovation required external creative vision. They began collaborating with architects and designers, marking a pivotal shift from in-house design to partnerships with Italy's emerging talents. This decision would define Cassina's legacy.
The 1950s brought collaborations with Franco Albini, whose poetic Italian rationalism yielded timeless pieces, and most significantly, Gio Ponti. In 1957, Ponti created the Superleggera—Italian for "super-light"—a chair weighing merely 1.7 kilograms that could be lifted with one finger. Inspired by traditional Ligurian Chiavari chairs, Ponti distilled the form to its essence: triangular ash wood struts measuring just 18 millimetres, slotted together with such precision that Ponti famously tested prototypes by throwing them from a fourth-storey window. The Superleggera became an icon of modernity, representing the marriage of Ponti's creative genius and Cassina's manufacturing excellence.
But Cassina's most transformative decision arrived in 1964 with the launch of "Cassina I Maestri"—the Masters Collection. The company acquired exclusive rights to manufacture furniture by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand, bringing modernist masterpieces back into production with historically accurate research conducted in collaboration with foundations and estates. The LC1, LC2, and LC3 armchairs, and the iconic LC4 chaise longue—originally designed in 1928—became bestsellers, introducing museum-quality design to discerning consumers worldwide.
The Masters Collection expanded dramatically: Bauhaus-Archiv objects in 1968, Gerrit Rietveld and Frank Lloyd Wright in 1971, Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1972, Erik Gunnar Asplund in 1983. Each addition represented not mere reproduction but painstaking reconstruction of twentieth-century archetypes, preserving design history with reverence and precision.
Simultaneously, Cassina nurtured contemporary talent. The roster reads like a who's who of design royalty: Vico Magistretti, Tobia and Afra Scarpa, Mario Bellini (whose 1977 Cab leather chair remains in production), Joe Colombo, Gaetano Pesce, Philippe Starck, Piero Lissoni, and Konstantin Grcic. In 1972, New York's MoMA honoured Italian design with "Italy: The New Domestic Landscape"—co-sponsored by Cassina, cementing the brand's cultural significance.
In 1987, Cassina received the Compasso d'Oro—Italy's most prestigious design award—for its innovative international approach and contribution to Italian design's global reputation. It was recognition not for a single product but for an entire philosophy: uniting time-honoured craftsmanship with contemporary vision.
In 2005, Cassina joined the Poltrona Frau Group, which was subsequently acquired by American furniture giant Haworth in 2014. In 2015, Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola became Art Director, guiding the brand into its tenth decade with collaborations featuring Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Michele De Lucchi, and other contemporary voices.
At HFOC, we specialise in sourcing authentic second-hand Cassina pieces—from Masters Collection icons by Le Corbusier and Rietveld to contemporary designs by Lissoni and Urquiola, from Ponti's Superleggera to Bellini's Cab chairs. Each piece represents furniture that transcends function to become a cultural artefact, offering discerning buyers the opportunity to own genuine design history at accessible prices.
Cassina doesn't create furniture. It preserves modernist legacy.
